


The Divide Between Us

by rndmnwierd



Category: RWBY
Genre: Abuse, Blood and Gore, F/F, Freezerburn Barbarian AU, Graphic Depictions of Battle, lil bit o angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-03-23 13:45:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 81,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13788984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rndmnwierd/pseuds/rndmnwierd
Summary: Weiss Schnee has it all; as the Crown Princess of the mighty Kingdom of Atlas, she could not ask for more. When war threatens, however, they must call upon their allies to the west, the warrior people of Vale, which includes the barbarian princess Yang Xiao Long. Events are set in motion that will change their lives forever. Will the two be able to weather the upcoming storms? Or will despair swallow them whole?





	1. Goodbye to Innocence

The capital city of Atlas was absolutely enormous, the Mage Spires jutting high enough in the sky to be seen for miles around, especially from the plains to the east. The farm was days away, but Oscar could see every detail when he was out in the fields. Sometimes, when he looked up, and it was just him, the field, and the Spires, he wondered what it would be like to see them up close. Would they be smooth and abnormally cold? Would the black shiny rock absorb the sun and make it super heated in the summer? What would it be like to stand at the base and look up at the tip top?

Eventually, he'd realize he was staring too long when one of his Aunts would call his name and remind him to get back to the field work. Still, every night after dinner, he'd wonder what it would be like to travel to the capital and see it first hand. He'd never been closer to Atlas than the small town that was a few miles down the road. He'd spent all the life he could remember at this farmhouse and Oscar dreamed of making it to the capital someday.

He knew that he should be grateful that his Aunts took him in after his parents died and he was! He liked the life he lived, the feeling of a hard day's work, coming in for dinner and getting cleaned of all the sweat and grime, falling into his bed with muscles aching from the day. He lived simply, the same chores day in and day out for as long as he could remember. Sometimes, though, he just wished for something interesting to happen.

 

_____________________

 

Oscar jerked up in bed, pulled from his slumber by a noise outside. He sat still, straining his ears, listening for the sound again before he realized, with a start, that he could hear nothing. Not just that he couldn't hear anything unusual, but there were no bugs chirping, no dogs barking, no creaking from the house settling. Just pure, uneasy silence.

Oscar climbed out of bed and carefully slipped into his day clothes, grabbing a baseball bat and slowly heading downstairs. He was gratified when he hit the third step from the bottom and it gave it's normal squeak. At least he hadn't gone deaf.

The air was heavy and still, oppressive and humid, crackling with the feel of static and Oscar found himself struggling to breathe as he carefully searched the bottom floor of the house for intruders. When he found none, he decided to take a look outside as well, knowing that something felt very wrong. It was still dark in the house and the moon was high in the sky which made it easier for his eyes to adjust, scanning across the fields for anything unusual.

He held his breath, searching slowly into the darkness of the night. Finally he saw it, a large, misshapen shadow with eyes like glowing pinpricks of red stood up from where it had been crouching in the potatoes. Oscar wanted to scream, but fear froze his vocal cords and pushed the air from his lungs and, he realized when another shadow stood and another, another, another, it was a good thing he couldn't.

The first thing gave a howl that sent ice through his veins and Oscar finally sprang into action, quietly shutting and locking the door as answering snarls, growls, roars, and howls echoed across the plains and he realized there were more of them hidden among their crops that he still couldn't see. He ran upstairs and burst into his Aunts' room, falling on them curled up in bed together and shaking them frantically, "Get up, there's monsters outside, we have to run!"

Oscar was always an honest boy and he had a good relationship with his Aunts and he'd never been more grateful for that until this moment when they immediately got up and began to dress, never doubting him.

"What do you mean, monsters?" Aurora asked him, shrewd gray eyes boring into his seriously as she began throwing money and papers into a bag.

"Are they beasts from the wilds? They've never been this far west before." Misa's voice shook, her pale blue eyes wide with fear.

"I don't know, they were black as the night and with glowing red eyes." Oscar shook his head at the memory, still feeling that chill.

"We need to get to the stable, grab some horses and ride into town." Aurora said decisively, slinging the bag across her back and grabbing a sword and a sickle, handing the latter to Misa. Oscar felt some of his fear melt away in the face of his Aunt's courage. She always knew just what to do.

As a group the three headed downstairs and out the back door, sprinting for the stables. As soon as they rounded the house, Oscar could see it was even worse than before, even in the short time it had taken them to pack. The creatures were now in what must be the hundreds, a black and red sludge covering their crops and eating through the plant life, originating from the monsters. It fell off their backs like water, coating the ground and spreading slowly.

They were lucky that the stables were on the far side of their land, opposite the fields, otherwise there'd be no way to safely get to the horses. They managed to make it inside the stables, just as the monsters and their corruption rounded the corner of the house. Oscar knew they'd been seen because there was a vicious roar behind them.

"Quick, open all the stables and set the horses free, we'll grab three and ride through the back doors." Aurora ordered and he and Misa quickly set about doing as she asked. Oscar wasn't sure if the pounding he was hearing was his heart or the charging of the monsters coming towards them.

It took maybe two minutes to slam all the stalls open and free the panicked horses and maybe another minute to mount the three calmest ones, but that was all the time the monsters needed to slam into the side of the stable that faced the house. Oscar thought he might have screamed, but it was drowned out among the panic from the horses. Aurora dove for the back doors and when it opened, the animals charged out.

For one, terrifying second, Oscar thought they'd trampled his Aunt, but then she was mounting her horse and shouting at them to get moving and they were racing across their property towards the road. After that, things began to get a little fuzzy for Oscar. He remembered vaguely the fear that they were going to get caught before the horses could get up to speed, the sound of the monsters falling upon an animal that had been a little too slow. Then they jumped over a fence and hit the dirt road and dust flew up under the hooves of the horses. Oscar felt like he couldn't catch his breath, he could only hold on for dear life.

 

___________

 

Atlas city was a modern giant of magic and convenience; housing the Academy meant that it had the newest techniques available to put into use before any other country in the world. The slums were nearly non existent, barring a few square miles of holdouts in the far corner of the city. Faunus resistance was too thick there for the mages to come in and fix the buildings, but the King was confident that it would only be a matter of months before they would eventually eke out the last of the troublemakers and finish civilizing the city.

That was not something Weiss was worried about, however, especially not this morning, waking to the sun peeking into her room through the curtains her cute, dog faunus maid had opened moments earlier. The girl was a fairly new addition to her retinue, probably only a few years younger than the princess, herself. Weiss quite liked her, she was quiet and carried herself gracefully, no mess ups or clumsy accidents and she was perfectly polite without being overly reverent.  
"Good morning, Cherry." Weiss smiled when the girl handed her a cup of coffee as soon as she sat upright.

"Good morning, Your Highness." The girl responded with a small smile of her own, before busying herself with gathering Weiss's outfit for the day. The sound of movement in her bathroom let Weiss know that her other servants were preparing her bath.

"What's on the agenda today?" Weiss asked, slowly sipping her drink. Normally, it would be Klein's job as steward to go over her schedule, but Weiss preferred to be told over her first coffee so she could plan while in the bath and it was simply improper for the older man to see her in her night clothes. So, the job fell on Cherry, something Weiss preferred over the last girl who did the job. Cherry was much more educated and her voice was less grating. The previous attendant, a lizard faunus, also had a lisp and it made listening to her speak at length annoying.

"Well, there's been a bit of an emergency that rose up late last night and the King has called a Council meeting first thing." Cherry began, pausing to gauge Weiss's reaction instead of forging ahead to explain.

Weiss appreciated the gesture, "What kind of emergency?"

"Apparently, Atlas received a huge influx of refugees from the East last night. There's been talk of monster attacks and something destroying crops. The meeting is going to address this."

Deciding to think more on it during her bath, Weiss motioned for Cherry to continue on. The girl detailed her meetings and lessons for the day from memory and Weiss couldn't help feeling a bit impressed with her, as she usually did. For only being a teenager and a faunus, Cherry was incredibly mature and responsible.

After the schedule and her coffee, Cherry didn't miss a beat helping Weiss strip for her bath, carrying her night clothes and empty cup off to get washed. This was usually where they parted for the day until it was time for lunch, so Weiss paid no more mind. Instead, she sank into the hot water of the bathtub and let her mind wander as more faunus servants gathered around to help her wash.

This was her routine for years and Weiss had no sense of embarrassment as hands worked wash into her hair and across her body. The sensations faded from the forefront of her thoughts and she mulled over the rumors of monsters. Surely it had to be magic, perhaps an evil mage coming from the wilds to annoy the Atlesian royalty. The spell must have been bad for people to want to evacuate.

As a mage herself, Weiss was very interested in the cause of this. Summoning spells in particular were something that she'd always struggled with, even though the women in her family had a talent for them. She would ask Father if she could go over to the Academy to do research on her own once they'd gotten more information.

Once she was clean, plucked, and sweet smelling, with hair plaited and dressed for the day, Weiss allowed her servants to open her door to the hallway and found Klein waiting patiently for her, as per usual. She greeted him with a happy smile, which was returned in kind, "Your Highness." He said warmly, gesturing for her to take the lead.

"Good morning, Klein." she greeted, almost cheerfully at the man that had a hand in her upbringing since her birth. She glanced at her servants, closing the door behind them while they cleaned her room for the day.

At the click of the door, Klein spoke up again, “How did you sleep, Miss Weiss?” Every time he talked to her so casually, Weiss felt a little bit of happiness shoot through her heart. Outside her family, everyone called her ‘Your Highness’, they were too afraid of the consequences of being casual with her. It made for a very lonely existence.

The fact that at least one person in her life, arguably the most important person to her next to her sister, called her by her name made her happy. They fell into conversation on the walk to the council room, luckily not running into anyone else so they could continue to speak their minds, until Weiss had to pause outside the door to school her features.

These people inside weren’t her friends, not even close, not even Father. If she let anything slip past her her mask of emotionlessness, they would tear her apart. She took a deep breath and, as she let it out, let her expression turn completely blank. Then she straightened her posture, opened the door and marched in without a pause.

For once, she was the last to arrive and that’s how she knew the situation was more dire than she had been led to believe. For a moment, she felt irritation with Cherry, before shaking it away. Most likely, she didn’t know either, it wasn’t her fault. It was just a shame because undoubtedly this slip up of being last would be used against her.

The room was enormous, all marble floors and columns; a plush, blue runner leading from each of the four doors in the room towards the central rectangular table. The table was also marble, all majority white, of course. At the table sat five men, humans and nobles; including her father, the King, taking up the head.

“Ah, she finally makes her appearance.” A snotty voice spoke up from a sneering, aged face. Weiss didn’t deign to respond to the man, Grayson Winchester, as she strode purposefully across the room. She stepped off the runner and let her heels click across the marble and echo through the room loudly, drowning out any other snide comments he might have. He looked so disgruntled that Weiss almost smiled, biting her tongue hard to prevent even the faintest twitching in her face.

This was a battlefield and her sword wouldn’t help her here, she had to have immaculate control. She didn’t hurry across the room or apologize when she finally sat down at the far end of the table. She simply sat up straight, prim and proper, every inch the princess she was. She shared a greeting look with James Ironwood, the only respectable person at the table with her, before turning to Father quietly.

He let them stew for a moment, something she knew he would do, before speaking up in a voice that carried with little visible effort. “I’ve called this emergency meeting of the High Council of Atlas to address an issue that came to my attention last night. Sometime around midnight, about a hundred peasants and farmers from the outlying countryside came to our gates and demanded entry and protection. They all cried out about monsters and their land being destroyed and more are coming by the hour. I’m calling for an investigation into these claims.”

“Do we have first hand accounts?” Ironwood asked, hands steepled together in front of him.

Father gestured to a male servant at the door opposite the one Weiss came in and the fox faunus swiftly ushered in two women and a younger boy. “Presenting Aurora, Misa, and Oscar Pine. Farmers and among the first hit by the… trouble.”

They looked anxious and Weiss couldn’t blame them. It certainly wasn’t every day people of their low status stood in this room, especially during a Council meeting. The taller woman, the one with piercing gray eyes, had one hand on the boy’s shoulder and the other clutching the smaller woman’s wrist. Weiss immediately pegged them as spouses, which meant the boy must be their son.

“Well, speak.” Winchester demanded, his booming voice making the three jump. Aurora gave the boy a little nudge and he began in a halting voice, shaking with fear.

“It was a few hours after dinner. Something woke me up and when I went outside to check, I saw… Creatures in our potato field. They had fur so dark they blended into the night, but their eyes were glowing red. They came from the East, some kind of corruption falling off their bodies and eating away at the crops. It was like nothing I’ve ever heard of before.”

“We barely escaped on a few horses.” Now Aurora picked up his story, “There were hundreds of them, they came like a wave over the hills in the distance. They followed us to the town down the road and destroyed everything in their wake. We were afraid they’d follow us all the way to the gate of Atlas but then…. They just stopped.”

While the men at the table all exchanges looks and began to talk amongst themselves, Weiss examined the small family better. They looked haggard, rumpled clothing, dirt streaked faces, tired eyes. She supposed that was expected for people that had just lost everything, but surely they were being taken care of.

Putting thoughts of them out of her mind, Weiss turned back towards the discussion, listening in as the men weighed options. It seemed that Ironwood wanted to send an army out to take care of the problem, while the others wanted to reinforce the city.

Weiss had to agree with the general, they couldn't just leave the monsters unchecked.

“While we sit back and do nothing, those beasts will just grow stronger.” Ironwood argued with force behind his words.

“I agree.” Weiss finally spoke up, “It's obviously a magical problem, which means it's most likely only going to grow stronger the longer we leave it. We should get a force of soldiers and mages and meet the problem head on.” The general gave her a little nod in thanks for backing him up.

“Then that's what we'll do.” Weiss nearly jumped when Father spoke up, quelling any other arguments. “We'll bring the might of the Atlas military down on this problem and crush it. To do nothing, to retreat and fortify, that's only showing weakness.”

The rest of the meeting was dedicated to planning out strategies in going to meet the monsters in battle. In the middle of it all, Weiss remembered the farmer family and looked over to where they’d been standing. They were gone, apparently escorted out by a servant during the discussion.

Weiss spared them only another minute of her thoughts before turning back to the matter at hand.

 

______________

 

The deployment was set for three days after the meeting and Weiss was summarily shut out of the major planning, just like always. It was incredibly vexing, but unfortunately common. Once she was released from the meeting, and after seeing to her other duties, Weiss decided to head to the Academy to do some research of her own.

The Academy was headed by Headmaster Ozpin and his right hand Professor Glynda Goodwitch, both of whom had a personal hand in her training as a child. Although she still couldn’t summon, Weiss had excelled in every other aspect of magic and was one of the youngest graduates of the Academy to date. That had certainly been helped by the fact she was one of the youngest mages to ever enter the Academy and that her family was well known for their incredible control over their power.

Not that it had been easy for her. Father had forced her into the school as soon as she’d shown an affinity and at an even younger age than her older sister had been. Weiss recalled her mother arguing with him about it when she was very young. It was one of the last memories she'd had of the woman before she had died.

Her age was often attributed to her lack of mastery over summoning; she'd heard her teachers talking about it, which only spurred her to work harder, to no avail. It was her greatest failing and she no longer felt as though it was something she’d be able to do after so many years.

Shaking away these thoughts, Weiss looked up at the large, obsidian structure that was the Academy. Were it not for the ominous, shiny black material, the building might have been mistaken for the Palace, it was so elaborate. The two were even right next to each other, both taking up the majority of the southern end of the city and surrounded by massive stone walls that separated each from the major populace and each other.

Weiss never even had to go into the actual city in order to get to her beloved Academy, there was a guarded entrance in the wall between the two structures that she used often. Smiling a bit at the familiar sight, Weiss headed towards the main entrance, which was the fastest way to get to the library that would hopefully hold her answers.

 

_________

 

It was a beautiful day, the sun was just peeking over the sparse trees that littered the plains, already beginning to warm the cool morning air. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the light glittered off dew and armor alike. They’d ridden for a few days, but the troops weren’t worked to the bone; they were well rested and ready to go.

James Ironwood sat proudly upon his horse at the forefront of his Army, their bone white uniforms reminiscent of headstones standing neatly in rows behind him. It was fitting, considering that they were a well oiled killing machine. James had a hand in designing their training regiment and personally chose the people to oversee it, knowing they would have his same, exacting standards.

In front of him, just down the hill, lay their enemy. As black as James’s army was white, the differences between them just fueled his righteous fury. They were evil and he was good, they were destruction and he was protection, chaos to his order. Knowing that he had the might of the Atlas military at his back, James knew they would be victorious.

“Men at the ready!” He commanded, hearing his lieutenants echoing him down the line. He felt a charge like static as the Mage Corps within his ranks began to prepare their spells. He gave them a moment, counting down in his head.

His arm raised high, the metal of his prosthetic feeling warm as power flowed through it. Everyone waited for his order with baited breath. He dropped his arm, motioning forward.

“Charge!”


	2. Unfortunate Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad news and better visitors come to Atlas. Weiss is determined not to let anything get in her way.

For the better part of seven days and nights, Weiss absorbed herself in the Academy library. She carefully delegated her duties to her advisors and cleared as much of her schedule as humanly possible so that she could research the trouble that had appeared in their backyard.

The more she dug through old, dusty tomes, however, the more frantic her search became. By all rights, these beasts, this corruption, it had never existed until this point in time. She found no references to them; despite her vast intellect and boundless resources, every book she searched through only lead to more dead ends.

She couldn't understand it, there was no magic the Academy hadn't catalogued, no new spells or summons that they didn't know about. Weiss wasn't sure what the more terrifying prospect was, that someone outside the Academy had created such high level spells without drawing the attention of the powerful Headmaster Ozpin, or that Ozpin knew and had painstakingly censored all mention of such magic.

On the morning of the third day, Weiss was there to see the troops off before going to do her research. According to Ironwood, they were looking at a two week engagement. He had prepared two thirds of Atlas's massive military, which amounted to most of the troops stationed in Atlas City, including most of their Mage Corps.

He seemed confident.

Which is why it was such a shock when Weiss was awakened a almost a week later in the middle of the night by Klein. A messenger had come from the battlefield bearing grave news. Weiss barely had time to get into her day clothing, hair in a messy ponytail, before the council was meeting.

Most everyone was in their pajamas, even Father looked less than immaculate as he barked at the boy to give his news.

The messenger was young, thin, dark bags under his eyes and he smelled heavily of sweat and blood. His voice croaked, dry from his exertions and fear, as he spoke his news.

“The battle is lost.”

Immediately, the table erupted into talk, everyone trying to clarify different things at once. Weiss couldn't make out anything clearly until Father slammed his fists into the table and bellowed, “Enough!”

Silence fell in the hall, everyone staring at Jacques while he glared at them all. Finally, when he seemed certain they were settled, he motioned to the messenger, “Explain yourself.”

The boy swallowed nervously under the weight of everyone’s gaze, just barely managing to not stumble over his words, “Well, we reached the monsters much sooner than expected, after only three day's march. We came upon them in a small valley.”

“General Ironwood had us all form up and prepare for battle. We weren’t tired from travel and it looked like we outnumbered them. We thought it would be a quick battle. So, we charged down the hill to fight, but….” The boy began to shiver, Weiss could hear his teeth chattering in remembered fear.

Still, after a second to collect his nerve, he forced himself to go on, “They were faster and stronger than us, they ripped through us with just those vicious claws. Then, they suddenly surrounded us, a much greater force than before. When the General realized, he called for retreat, but it was too late. Most of the forces we brought with us are gone and the Mage Corps we brought were decimated almost to the last man.”

Weiss covered her mouth in shock, two thirds of the Army? All the Mage Corps? That was impossible, that _couldn't_ be possible. The might of the Atlas military, gone in the course of a single battle?

“And what of the General?” Father asked, voice dangerously low and flat. Weiss felt herself tense instinctually, not sure what to expect next.

“He's still hours behind me.” The messenger obviously felt the change in the air, his voice became more timid than it had been before.

“We'll send some of the Guard out to escort him back.” With a snap of his fingers, Father had summoned a tall man in pristine, silver armor, sapphire inlaid sword sheathed at his side. A few murmured words and he was marching out of the room with a purpose.

Weiss felt cold and nauseous, how in the world would they be able to protect themselves now? Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking along these lines, because Father spoke up again after a moment.

“We'll shore up our remaining defenses, close the city, recall the remaining military forces that aren’t already guarding our borders. Weiss, you'll go to the Academy and urge Ozpin to shield the city with magic from his students. The rest of you will send out requests to every ally you can think of. Including,” here he grimaced, “Our ‘friends’ to the West.”

The outrage was immediate, “You don't mean to ask those savages for help?!” Winchester roared, standing up suddenly. 

Father sneered in displeasure, but Weiss couldn't tell if it was at the outburst or the thought of asking the only people who hadn't been bested by their military for help. The citizens of Vale made their homes in the forests of the west and their territory extended all the way to the coast. They were total barbarians, living in huts and wearing barely processed furs, employing guerilla tactics from their trees or simply overwhelming their enemy with sheer numbers. They outnumbered the Atlas military ten to one, even more now, after their losses. 

Still, despite how much Weiss loathed to admit it, they could probably use the help. “Their entire society is militaristic.” She pointed out to Winchester, “On top of that, they could at least provide cannon fodder in the case that the city is overrun.” That last part made him nod reluctantly and Weiss had to fight not to roll her eyes.

“Weiss.” Her father’s commanding voice brought her attention back to him, “You’re dismissed. Go to the Academy now and begin preparations for the shield.”

She nearly huffed, he was always treating her like a child, most especially whenever she began to say something to get any of the others to agree with her. She stood and gave a curtsy, face staying totally neutral, “Yes, Your Majesty.” It would be fine to ingratiate herself just a bit to avoid any wrath later on, right? She knew he liked it when he was reminded of his own power.

She waited until she was outside the council chambers to let her face fall. This was not good, this was far more serious than she had first anticipated and Weiss couldn’t help the urgency in her steps. Without a military presence, Atlas would be in serious danger of being totally wiped out. She needed to make sure that Ozpin was aware of the severity of the situation, they would most likely have to invoke the power of the Mage Spires.

_________

The trip to the Academy was uneventful. It was still early morning and almost no one was in the street, even after Weiss had stopped back by her quarters to freshen up. The Academy was not open to the public at this time, but Weiss always had a way inside. As part of the Royal family, she would be accepted through the doors once the magical security recognized her, a wonderful little benefit that she often took advantage of.

So it was that she was strolling down the empty hallways towards the headmaster's quarters at the back of the school. Ozpin had his chambers behind his office, supposedly behind a hidden door in the bookcase. She'd never seen it herself, however there were always rumors when she had been going to school. Weiss had been aware of dares to try and sneak in and find it, but no one had been successful. As far as she knew.

Despite the grim circumstances, there was still a part of her that was curious about those rumors. She paused at his office door to gather herself, then knocked firmly, “Professor Ozpin!”

To her surprise, she was answered immediately, “Come in, Your Highness.”

She opened the door, a little disappointed to find him and Glynda already dressed for the day and looking over things. By the looks on their faces, Weiss could guess what had them up so early. 

“I take it you've heard the news?” she asked as she entered, shutting the door firmly behind her. Her heels clicked over the obsidian flooring and Weiss realized this was the first time she'd heard them since entering the Academy. Interesting that there was a muffling spell put on the halls, she wondered if Ozpin was aware or if it was the work of some sneaky student.

Weiss quickly pushed the thought from her mind, focusing on the task at hand.

“Yes, we've started preparing the necessary spells. We need time to prepare, but we should be able to invoke the Spires’ power.” Ozpin assured her with his smooth, calm voice. Weiss was grateful to hear it, there was something about him that always set her at ease; the man had all the answers. “Don’t worry, Your Highness, we already have plans to enact the spells later this morning, after breakfast.”

“Good, good. What exactly did you have in mind? I can lend my power as well.” Weiss offered, fiddling with the folds on her skirt.

“There will be no need for that, Your Highness.” This time it was Glynda that spoke up, voice firm and authoritative, “With the teachers and top students currently attending, we should have plenty to power these spells. There’s no need to get you involved as well. You should go back to the castle and let the King know we have everything under control.”

“Of course.” Weiss nodded, but then, didn’t move, “Professor…” She began hesitantly, “Do you know what these monsters are? I searched the library for days and was unable to find any information on them. Are they new? Who could possibly have created a force that could so quickly and easily decimate an army?”

She watched as Ozpin and Glynda exchanged a glance, then Glynda turned to answer, voice smooth and calm, “We’re still investigating that. We need a little more time to follow our leads.”

Weiss had grown up in the harsh game of the Royal court and she’d learned from a young age how to spot a lie. Some people lied to make themselves look better, some lied in order to ingratiate themselves, all lies were manipulations. She could spot Glynda’s lie as plain as day and it was a slap in the face. Her teachers were lying to her about an incredibly important and dangerous enemy.

She hated being lied to.

Weiss made a split second decision to just accept it for now and do more research on her own. She knew exactly where to start, “Please let us know when you’ve found something, Professor.” She implored gently, hoping to at least make them feel guilty for lying to her, “We lost a lot of good men and any information might be helpful in stopping these creatures.” Then she turned to take her leave, mind working overtime about her next steps.

She’d need to get into the restricted section of the library, which was no easy feat. She’d done it before, of course, no magic barriers could quell her curiosity, but it had taken days of planning. Now, she’d have to pull it off on the fly.

As she left the office, however, she noticed two people scrambling away from the door, suspiciously trying to look nonchalant. Weiss eyed them, “What are you two doing here?”

“Ohhhh, nothing!” The small redhead answered, too quickly, voice shrill with panic, “We were just coming down for breakfast! Right, Ren?” The boy, tall and dark haired, nodded solemnly.

Another lie, they were abundant today, but then she realized something and a small smile spread across her face, “You two are the ones that put the muffling spell in the hallway. So you could sneak out, I’m guessing?”

“NooOOooo, I don’t know what you’re-”

“Cut the crap, your lies are terrible.” Weiss interrupted, “Luckily for you, I could use someone with that kind of talent. Tell me, have you ever broken into the restricted section in the library?”

Weiss watched the redhead’s expressive face go through an absurd amount of emotions before settling on excitement, “Piece of cake! We've done it twice.”

Good, Weiss motioned them ahead of her, towards her goal, “Let's go then. I don't have much time. I need that information now.”

“Now? But we haven't had time to prepare.” The boy, Ren, spoke up again, voice smooth and calm despite his confusion.

“I have a plan, don't worry. We just need to be fast.” If they could throw up spells simultaneously, they could bypass the security through precise force and be in the restricted section before they reset. Hopefully without accidentally setting them off.

“You have a plan to get through that tight security with two strangers and no prep?” Nora asked in a loud stage whisper.

“Of course I do.” Weiss protested. She just had to remember her training. It had been a long time since she used some of the spells she had in mind.

“So what's the plan?” Nora asked impatiently, looking up when Ren swatted her, “What?”

“Nora, have some respect, do you know who this is?” Weiss straightened up proudly at Ren's words.

“Uh, no, should I?”

Weiss rolled her eyes, of course this brash girl would have paid no attention to that kind of thing.

“She's the crown princess, Nora.” Even Ren seemed exasperated.

“She's the…? Ohhhh, that makes so much sense. No wonder you walk around like you own the place, you actually do!” Nora seemed very amused by her own joke, giggling as Ren pressed a hand to his face. 

“Yes, well, let’s go before the rest of the Academy starts to wake up.” Weiss gestured towards the library. “Once we get there, I want you two to simultaneously fire off stalling spells on the left and right to make the outside defenses hesitate. Then I’ll unlock the door and once we’re in, I’ll handle the rest of the defenses.”

As they made their way to the restricted section, Weiss filled them in on the deeper details of the plan, how many spells exactly, the intensity of each, when to cast them, the precise targets. There wasn't a lot of time to prep, but by the time they got there, she was confident that even the bubble headed Nora would be able to pull this off.

The great Academy library was truly a wonder in and of itself. Four stories high, it resided within the Academy's central tower. The bottom floor was the most used; a huge, square room normally filled with students and teachers alike either milling about or studying in small groups. 

The staircase to the upper floors was situated in the corner opposite the main double doors. Weiss knew from experience that the remaining floors were much less used, the staircase being just wide enough for two people to pass each other walking sideways. The higher floors were large, round rooms that got progressively smaller as the tower tapered as it went. The higher the floor, the more specialized the subject matter, but none of the four floors were off limits.

The restricted section was at the far end of the first floor library; in order to get to the entrance you had to pass around an inconspicuous wall and down a long corridor with smooth, unassuming walls the same obsidian as the rest of the Academy. Most places in the building compensated for the unbroken and shiny black material with light colored paintings, shelves, and furniture, but here, there was nothing but foreboding darkness. No doubt meant to psyche out anyone thinking of coming to this section of the library. 

Luckily, Weiss found comfort and not anxiety in these walls. Surrounded by magic and knowledge, this was where she longed to be. After the long, quiet journey, the three paused to survey the hallway and Weiss turned towards her companions, “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.” Nora said, voice low and eager. Ren, of course, just silently nodded.

“Alright, count of three. One, two,” Weiss glanced at her companions, taking note of them gathering energy to cast, “Three!” 

All at once, they sprung into action, Nora on the left and Ren on the right. Weiss was actually impressed by how well they worked together, making mirrored hand movements and blasting out identical spells at the spots Weiss had previously indicated. She hurried after them, feeling the security spells stalling as they were hit. She gathered her energy as she walked, focusing it into the palm of her hand, mumbling the incantation under her breath. As she neared the door in their path, she gave a quick flick of her wrist and cast, hearing the heavy lock open.

Smirking, she gathered energy for her next spell, the most powerful one and the reason she’d needed their help in the first place. A recurring dispel, it would make sure that any of the defenses inside the restricted section stayed off while they were there. It would tire her out, but it would give her an hour to look around and gather what she could. 

Weiss fell into the door, shouldering her way through and quickly loosing her spell as she felt the hallway's security begin to power back on, “Hurry.” She motioned her companions inside, shutting the door as soon as Ren made it through. Here she had to pause, the drain of the spell making her feel light headed enough that she didn’t trust her next step. 

“Woah.” She heard Nora exclaim and looked up to see her marveling at the dispel, which had taken on the physical form of a ball of light near the ceiling of the room, “That’s so powerful, Ren and I just used a stealth bubble. But that only lasts twenty minutes.”

“It’s not a bad idea, stealth bubbles make it hard to touch any of the books, though, because I know there are certain ones that are specifically trapped with alarm spells.” Weiss straightened and marched over to one of the shelves, “Now, I’m looking for any books about summoned or created creatures that aren’t among public knowledge.” She sighed, glancing around the room.

The restricted section wasn’t all that big, just a round room lined with bookshelves, a few tables in the middle and locked display cases that housed some of the more important, fragile, or dangerous books. Between the three of them, she was sure that they’d be able to find something. Right?

Each of them took a shelf, skimming over the titles of each book and looking for anything that might feature what Weiss was searching for. It was slow going, but they started a small pile on one of the tables to go through. Weiss thought that she might take some of the more promising books back to the castle to study.

As she was glancing over the spines of each shelved book, though, something caught her attention. A scroll with her family crest carved into the wooden handle. Weiss had broken into this section multiple times, but she had no recollection of seeing this scroll. It looked old, ancient even, the paper yellow and creased from age and handling. Certainly she couldn't know every book here, but her crest stood out to her eyes.

Carefully, Weiss pulled it from the shelf, unrolling it gingerly. The words on the page made her blood run cold.

‘THESE SOULS WORKED FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE NEWLY FORMED CITY OF ATLAS. LET THEM BE HONORED, THEIR BLOOD, SWEAT, AND BONES FORMED THE MORTAR OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE TOWERS AND THEIR POWER CAN BE CALLED ON TO SHIELD US ALL’

Underneath that was a list, names, ages, species; hundreds of them, almost all faunus. At the very bottom, the whole thing was signed off by two people; the original headmaster of the Academy and her very own ancestor. 

The world seemed to fall away as Weiss continues to stare with incomprehension. She let her eyes run over the ink again and again, making herself focus until she had memorized the words at the top.

Was this what she thought it was? A record of dark magic and the souls used to power it? Had they killed all these people? There were children on this list, the elderly, whole families. No, that couldn’t be possible. This must just be a list of slaves that built the city in the beginning. This was a scroll of honor, after all. Not a record of genocide.

If she told herself that enough times, maybe she’d even start to believe it.

“Princess?” Ren’s voice thankfully interrupted her thoughts and she turned to him in what felt like a daze. “I think we might have found something.” 

She quickly shuffled the scroll back into its place and followed him to the growing stack of books. In the middle of the table was an old tome, only a few pages long, opened up to the middle. Staring back from those pages was a fierce looking creature that matched the description given by the Pine family.

“The book is called ‘The Forbidden Creatures of Grimm’. Think that’s what you’re looking for?” Nora asked, rocking back on her heels proudly.

“Yes, I think that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Good job. Why don’t you two see if there’s any other books dedicated to these Creatures of Grimm and I’ll look through the books we’ve already pulled out.” Weiss slid into a seat and pulled one of the books towards her with a sigh. She needed to focus on this and try to get that scroll out of her head. 

Easier said than done.

_________

Getting out of the restricted section was much easier than getting into it; a quick portal spell, something that even a mage low on energy could do short range, had them stepping out onto the Academy grounds in a hidden place that Weiss was all too familiar with from her other secret excursions. In her arms, she even carried the few books they’d found with mention of the creatures in them. Judging by the amount of dust on them, she didn’t need to worry about them being missed.

Thanking Ren and Nora for their help, Weiss set off towards her home, intent on further studying the material she’d acquired. It was still very early in the morning, so she wasn’t expecting to run into anyone. Which was why it was such a shock when she turned into the castle grounds and found an entire barbarian entourage waiting on the lawn.

“What in the world?” There was no way the messenger, who could have only left a few hours ago, had reached the barbarian King. Weiss shrugged off her cloak, wrapped her books up in it and marched forward towards her home. The need for proper decorum around dignitaries overrode her desire to be unseen. After all, there was no need for the crown princess to sneak back into her own castle.

Small as she was, Weiss held herself with strength, something she knew these savages respected, and they noticed her, clearing the way for her to walk through their chaotic ranks. How disorganized, she sneered in her thoughts. She marched past them all, head held high, and entered beyond her saluting guards. 

Once inside, she searched for a servant, finding a small rat faunus cleaning the windows, “You there.” She called out and the faunus snapped to attention, “Take this to my room.” She held out the bundle, “Set it on my bed, don’t open it.” The faunus scrambled over to do as she was told, mumbling acknowledgment.

Weiss immediately headed for the throne room, knowing that’s where Father liked to greet visiting dignitaries. The throne room was massive, nothing but a symbol of power, designed solely to let everyone know who it was that held said power. Weiss hated it, it made her feel small, like a helpless little girl again, and that was something she hated more than anything.

She made her entrance silently, pushing open the giant doors just enough to slip inside. She noticed right away that Father was hosting their guests and it looked like she hadn’t missed much yet. She walked around the group, intending to take her place behind her father and also taking the opportunity to study the group that stood before the raised dais holding the throne.

There were five people; on the left, a tall redhead in leather armor with metal trim, a spear strapped to her back. Next to her was a short girl, young with brown hair, reddened at the tips with some kind of dye. Her form was obscured by a red cloak, so Weiss couldn’t make out too much more detail, except the wooden handle of a large weapon sticking up like a banner strapped to her back.

In the center was a tall man with blonde hair and a thin woven metal crown resting around his head. This was definitely the barbarian King. She couldn’t see his face from this angle, but he held himself tall, thick leather and metal armor covering him nearly head to toe and a bearskin cloak resting over his shoulders.

Next to him stood a blonde woman that was nearly as tall, hair wild and untamed. She was the most lightly covered of all of them, furs baring her long legs and a strip of skin between her top and bottoms. The only armored parts of her were her feet, adorned with thick leather boots, and her hands, which were encased in heavy metal gauntlets.

Weiss quickly turned away from her and all that exposed skin, eyeing the last woman, who was standing slightly behind the blonde. She was dark where everyone else was light, dark skin, black hair, dark colored clothing and the few leather pieces that she wore seemed to just blend into the black fabric. That wasn’t what made her stand out the most though, no, the most notable thing about her were the feline ears that jutted up atop her head.

Weiss was shocked that there was a faunus in the barbarian entourage; it was unheard of in Atlas for a faunus to be held in such high regard. Weiss had to remind herself that things were different in other countries and that she should treat this girl with the respect she had so obviously earned.

As she ascended the dais and took her place on her throne, Weiss glanced down to observe the group in front of them. The redhead did not so much as look up at her, focused and still like a well trained soldier. The King spared her a glance and an acknowledging head nod, echoed by the small young girl at his side. The two that caught her attention, though, were the blond girl and the faunus on the end. 

The faunus girl glared at her with an unexpected vitriol, but the blonde stared, her pretty purple eyes shining with interest. Weiss couldn’t even look for too long, feeling her face inexplicably heat up. Luckily, she was saved from embarrassing herself by Father finally speaking up.

“Welcome to Atlas.”


	3. In The Lair Of Spiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A deal is made that will change Weiss's future forever. What remains to be seen is whether that's for good or ill.

The throne room was only silent for a moment after Father's declaration, but then the barbarian King spoke up, voice light and friendly. “Thank you for letting us in uninvited. Your hospitality humbles us.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow at his words. Fake pleasantries, but well mannered, not what she was expecting. His entourage relaxed at his words, adopting non threatening poses, and Weiss hadn't realized until that moment that they hadn't been totally at ease.

“You weren't uninvited.” Father spoke, words visibly surprising the barbarians, “You simply beat my messenger. Now, I know why I wanted you here, but why did you come in the first place?”

The look on the barbarian King's face became serious, “We've been receiving a huge influx of refugees from Atlas. Many come with stories of monsters invading their farms and towns. There was no way we couldn't investigate their claims.”

Father nodded, “The claims are true.” He declared, but this wasn't unexpected, so no one reacted, “It's worse than we thought, however.”

This apparently also wasn't unexpected and the barbarian King said as much, “If you're turning to us, then I guess it is.”

The words made Father bristle just a bit, but he continued on, “You have the biggest army in the continent. We call upon you for assistance. Help your neighbors and you help yourselves in the long run.”

“The long run?” The barbarian King asked with a chuckle, “You know, I have actually been thinking about the long run. Did you know that it was my grandfather’s plan to unite the wild tribes? He’s the one that started reaching out, making deals and truces and alliances. He was thinking of the long run when he did so. Just like my father was when he continued his work and just like I was when I came into power.”

Weiss glanced at her father, confused by the story being told, but it seemed she wasn’t alone. Her father was very good at playing the game, but Weiss could recognize confusion evident in the twitch of his eyebrows and the way he let the barbarian King prattle on. What was the point of this? It was obviously building to something, but she’d never known these savages to be so long winded.

“I’m thinking of the long run now, when I tell you that I want to help you, but… I need something in return.” Weiss nearly rolled her eyes; here it was, his demands. Of course, he would be using this time to try and gain something in return; she shouldn’t have expected any less.

“And what might that be? Money? Trade?” Father sounded bored, “Whatever it is, we can certainly work out the details after this is all taken care of.”

“Mmm, not quite. You see, my nation, my kingdom, isn’t actually very old. We just quelled our last rebellion 25 years ago and have only been a recognized state for 20. We’re still young and many see us in a bad light. We need allies, we need power. We need legitimacy. And for that?” He paused, reaching up to ruffle his blonde hair in what Weiss could only see as a needlessly dramatic motion. Then he lifted his hand and pointed right at her, “I need your daughter.”

The throne room fell into shocked silence, Weiss nearly stopped breathing. That was not what she’d been expecting and she knew her face gave it away. “You need me?” She breathed out, just loud enough to be heard.

“Well, not me. My oldest child, however, yes. You see, what we as a nation need is to be seen as equals to a powerful empire like Atlas. Marrying our children together is more potent a treaty than any words on a parchment.” 

Weiss darted her eyes to her father, seeing the sour look on his face, and knew he was considering it. “And if I refuse?”

“Well, we’ll go home, enforce our borders, and accept any refugees from Atlas.” The barbarian shrugged like he wasn’t talking about condemning the entire city, a smug smile on his face.

“You’ll leave us to die.” Father accused with a hiss.

“And you expect us to lay down our lives for people that call us savages to our faces.” The barbarian shot back. “You need us and we need this. So, what’s more important? Your city or your pride?”

For a moment, Weiss saw rage flash through Father’s eyes and she thought that he’d shut this savage down out of pure spite. Then a deadly calm came over his face and, without even a glance at her, he nodded, “Agreed. My daughter will marry your son.”

“Son? Oh no, I only have daughters.” The savage King corrected and a noticeable shock spread through the throne room. The tall blonde woman who had been eyeing Weiss since she entered the room stepped forward, “This is Yang, my eldest child.”

“Is this a joke, Xiao Long?” Father demanded, slamming a fist against the arm of his throne, “Two women? How would they produce a true heir? Who will be the one to take charge? Women do not have the same power that men have, legally or otherwise.”

“My daughters are among the strongest warriors in my kingdom, Yang was already going to take my place and Weiss is your rightful heir. This is the union that makes the most sense and it will be seen as legitimate, not just by my people, but by the world at large. And if you say that you support it, your people will as well.”

Weiss heard an aggravated sigh come from Father, but he finally relented, “Fine. Our… Our two daughters will marry.”

The savage King nodded, a pleased look on his face, “Good. Then perhaps we should begin a discussion on the details of what’s needed here, as well as the exact nature of our alliance.”

“Weiss.” She looked up at the sound of her name, “See to accommodations for our guests. All of them.” Weiss nodded in acknowledgment, but Father was already turned away, knowing that she’d do as he asked.

Weiss took only a moment to think of what needed to happen, hiding her hesitation by stepping slowly down from her throne, “You’ll be housed in the West Wing.” A hand motion summoned a tall fox faunus to her side and she addressed him simply, “Please see to their luggage and make sure the rest of our visitors are tended to and escorted to the marching grounds to set up camp.”

When she turned back to the small group, she noticed the cat faunus girl was glaring at her as hard as she’d ever seen anyone glare. Weiss elected to ignore it, turning instead to her new betrothed and gave a curtsey, “My name is Weiss Schnee. Pleased to meet you.” She knew that they probably already knew who she was, but it was the proper thing to do and would, hopefully, spark introductions of their own.

Yang took the lead, stepping slightly forward and getting just about as close as Weiss allowed people, “I’m Yang Xiao Long,” She gestured to the younger girl, “This is my little sister, Ruby Rose.” Ruby beamed at her and Weiss nearly grimaced. Only a simpleton would look at a stranger so openly.

“The amazon behind her is Pyrrha Nikos, Ruby’s personal guard.” The tall redhead gave a deep, formal bow and Weiss returned the gesture with a nod, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Finally, someone with manners! “And, finally, my personal guard, Blake Bel- ugh!” Weiss looked up when Yang was cut off with a grunt, seeing her rubbing her side and giving the glowering faunus a look, “Just Blake.”

Weiss nodded, ignoring the continuously angry look Blake was giving her, “Alright, then follow me.” She turned on her heel and marched off towards their destination. The four guests trailed behind her silently. She could tell it was an awkward silence, the air thick with questions and uncertainty, but she paid it no mind. If they didn’t talk, then she didn’t have to deal with them. No problem, in her eyes.

The walk to the West Wing was fairly short, only a few minutes, and then it was up the stairs and out into the floor that held the guest quarters. Her chambers took up most of the floor above that, but the guest rooms were much more quaint. Each only had a combined bedroom and sitting room and a separate bathroom. 

Still, when she indicated to Pyrrha which room was her's, all the girls stopped to look at it in awe.

“It's so big! This is just for one person?” Ruby exclaimed.

“Of course and if you need anything, just pull the rope by the door and one of our servants will be right in to assist you. A bath will be drawn for each of you tonight and your clothing will be taken to be cleaned.” Weiss couldn't help but notice the others seemed uncomfortable at her words.

“Thank you. We're… not really used to being pampered.” Yang finally said diplomatically.

“Pampered? This is just how guests are treated normally.” Weiss insisted. “Now, let me show the rest of you to your rooms so you can get cleaned up. There will be lunch in a few hours and servants will fetch you when it's time.”

One by one Weiss escorted the girls to their rooms, until it was just her and Yang in the hallway. 

Weiss was surprised when the barbarian lingered, “Listen...” She finally said, hesitantly, “If you're not okay with this marriage stuff, I can ask my dad to reconsider. I mean, your father didn't even discuss it with you…”

Weiss held up a hand, “My father knows what's best for the country. If he says that marrying you is that, then I will do so. My opinion on this doesn't matter.” She gave Yang a fierce look, “I will do what I must for my people.”

Her words didn't seem to reassure Yang at all, instead, she ducked her head guiltily. “Well, I know it's just political, but I would like to get to know you better. I want to know that we're compatible, at least, I have to know that we can make this work without making each other miserable.”

“What does that matter?” Weiss asked in confusion, “This will go through regardless, because it's…” Weiss trailed off, seeing the look on Yang's face. She could read this woman like a book, could see clear as day how uncomfortable she was with that thought. It made her sigh, “If it means that much to you, then how about we have lunch together tomorrow. Just us two?”

The force of the relieved smile that spread across Yang's face nearly made Weiss stumble and she could see, for the first time really, how young Yang actually was, behind the muscles and the furs. She looked every inch the barbarian princess downstairs, but Weiss realized she really couldn't be much older than herself, “Yeah, that sounds great. Maybe you could show me the grounds, too.”

Weiss nodded, feeling like she couldn't say no to such a simple request from the girl, “Sure. Go wash up, now, the servants should bring your things shortly.” 

After Yang had shut the door, Weiss sighed, touching her hand to her forehead. Just what was she getting herself into?

___________

It was just before lunch that the remaining forces of the Atlas military limped through the main gates. A little more than two thirds of their entire combined forces resided in Atlas itself, while the remainder was spread out to protect the borders of the country. Weiss’s own sister was stationed at the border to the north and had been for many years now, thriving in the military in a way she’d never been able to at home. 

General Ironwood had come into his position over a decade ago; Weiss remembered formally meeting him on her seventh birthday, Winter had been twelve at the time, and the General had been kind to both of them. Neither girl had ever forgotten, her sister apparently more than she had, because five years later, Winter had hopped into one of the General’s caravan’s and joined his military. Leaving her behind.

Weiss tried not to still feel bitter, especially now, seeing the General covered in blood and bandages, marching into the Council chambers before even retiring to have his wounds more properly looked at. She was shocked to see that his coat hung limply on his right side, there was no arm or shoulder left for it to hang onto, so the garment merely draped over his missing appendage.

The council was all seated as he approached, nearly dragging his right leg as he walked. Weiss, with her trained eyes, could see the magic seeping out of his damaged prosthetic, and it took all her willpower not to stand to offer help. That was not something that would be appreciated in such a hostile setting.

Everyone was silent until the General was seated and Father spoke up, voice strained, “What. Happened.” It didn’t really seem like a question, growled out as it was.

“It was a trap.” Ironwood sighed, leaning his remaining arm on the table in an uncharacteristic show of weakness, “A very good one, too. They knew things that they should not have known, things that only a few living people know about our defenses. They knew which tactics I’d use, they knew which forces posed the most threat to them. How exactly to hit each of my men.”

“What do you mean by defenses?” Weiss asked carefully. The way he’d said it, something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t seem like he was talking about the military.

Ironwood paused, glancing at Father, then cleared his throat, “Of course you know that Atlas was founded just after the Great War, during a time of chaos?”

Weiss nodded, looking around at the other men around the table. Of course, everyone knew that, but it sounded like the General was trying to make a point, so she stayed silent.

“During that time, there was a group of mages that attempted to attack the city from outside our borders with summoned creatures as an army, similar to what we’re seeing now and similar to what has happened before. However, the first time such a thing happened, the fledgling city was unprepared and nearly fell before it could really get off the ground.”

“It took a great mage to fend them off, he became the Hero of Atlas and the first King, yes yes, everyone knows the story of how the Schnee family came to power.” Grayson Winchester interrupted, waving his hands, “Your point?”

“After that,” Ironwood growled, glaring at the man, “The First King and The Founder of the Academy got together to prevent something like this from happening again. They built the four Mage Spires that everyone is familiar with to protect the immediate perimeter of the city, yes, but they also built eight more pillars. At one day’s and two day’s ride out from the first Pillars to form more barriers. You may recognize that we also built watchtowers on those spots as well.”

“What people don’t know, however, is that the foundation of the watchtowers are actually the top of underground Pillars. While the Pillars around Atlas need to be powered by an offering of magic during during a crisis, the other towers were infused with spells and protections that react whenever summons and magical attacks get too close. Kind of an always on perimeter system.”

Weiss felt faint, a scroll flashed through her mind, her family crest carved into the wooden ends. It couldn’t be, could it? Hadn’t there been just over 800 names on that list? A long lasting spell powered by death, a hundred lives would keep it going indefinitely. No one knew what was under those towers, otherwise it would be either common knowledge or legend.

She clenched her jaw silently as Ironwood continued, trying to keep her face expressionless. “The towers are a well kept secret, usually what happens is that summons go past the barrier and begin to weaken, the master’s grasp and energy slipping until they just disappear. By the time they do, we’re already engaging with the master.” 

“So what happened this time?” Winchester demanded.

“The summons waited for us outside the barrier. A small force, something we could definitely handle. However, they were ready for us, when we came down the hill, hundreds more were summoned around and behind us. The master was watching us, waiting, and they were within less than fifty yards from the barrier. The master knew, without a doubt, they knew exactly where our defenses were.”

“An inside job, then?” Reddington Lark, another of the councilmen, spoke up, reasonably.

“It must be.” Winchester growled, “Where is the information about the towers kept?”

“The Academy?” Weiss guessed, finally feeling more under control, “That’s the only place we’d have records that old.”

“It’s the only explanation.” Ironwood agreed, “I had thought all records of it were destroyed, but if there were any left, then it must be that the Academy has been infiltrated.”

“If there weren’t records, then who would know about the Towers?” Weiss asked softly, thoughts back to that scroll.

“The King, the head of the military, and the headmaster of the Academy. These are knowledges that are passed down in each position.”

“Weiss.” Father said, finally speaking up, “After lunch, you will go to the Academy to speak to Headmaster Ozpin about this.” Weiss acknowledged his words with a nod. “Let’s put this discussion about the Towers on hold for just a moment, there is other news to talk about.”

“The savages.” Winchester growled, “We weren’t expecting them for some time.”

“Yes, they came in this morning and we’ve already been discussing their assistance.” Father said, just a hint of displeasure in his voice, “It’s been decided that in exchange for that, Weiss will be marrying the barbarian princess.” The way he said it made it seem like it was his idea, which meant that not only would the council members be less likely to protest, but it also didn’t reveal that they’d been practically blackmailed into it.

Still, Winchester nearly exploded in rage, “What!? And what about my son?” Weiss struggled not to roll her eyes.

Cardin Winchester was a large boy, and she did mean boy, a couple years her senior and with the personality of a useless wasp. Ready to sting anyone and anything at a moment’s notice, he didn’t have so much a sharp tongue as a blunt one and wielded it with all the grace of a boy who thinks he’s bigger than his britches. Weiss hated him and she didn’t hate many people; he was needlessly cruel to his servants and everyone he perceived as lower than him and he was a lying suck up with everyone else.

It was no surprise to her that Grayson thought his son was in the running for her hand, after all, the only reason the man was even on this council was due to his considerable mining rights. If he wanted, he could make things very hard on them by raising the prices of Dust and ore or outright refusing to sell to them. Blackmail.

Father hated blackmail.

The only reason he had gone along this time is that the threat was more immediate. Still, once the decree was signed and the announcement was made, she’d be stuck with the blonde barbarian. Still, better than Cardin Winchester by a mile.

Father ignored Winchester’s outburst, “The formal announcement will be made tomorrow, as well as the announcement of curfew for the city. All citizens will be retiring by nine at night and can move freely again at six in the morning. I will move more guard to the refugee camp.” He continued, indicating the ever growing section of tents and wagons that lay just outside the Eastern Gate.

Winchester settled back with a grumble and an expression that greatly resembled a pout, “And what of the savages?”

“I’m still working out the details with Xiao Long.” Father said, cutting his eyes to the sulking noble with distaste, “Ironwood, we’re meeting again after lunch, you are to join us. The only certainty we have so far is that Xiao Long will only pledge half his forces to the campaign.”

Weiss felt her eyes twitch, wanting to widen in surprise and around the table, the other men didn’t have as much control. Father had said only, but half the barbarian forces still equaled nearly three times what they’d lost in battle already. Weiss thought it to be more than generous.

Before anyone else could say anything, the bell that signaled the next meal rang. Father stood and that was their cue to all rise as well, “That will be all for today. Once Ironwood and I have discussed more with the barbarians, I’ll be holding another meeting to update everyone of the plan. Dismissed.”

They all waited until Father began to move before they followed him. It was impolite to not feed guests, so most council meetings ended with them all adjourning to the dining hall for a meal. To her surprise, once they all arrived, the barbarian entourage was already seated in places of honor at the table. The King sat to the right of the head followed by his youngest daughter and her guard. On the left was Weiss’s empty place and then her betrothed and her guard.

Weiss sighed silently and strolled calmly to her seat, returning the bright smile her betrothed sent her with a simple nod, “I’m excited to see what’s going to be served.” Yang admitted quietly, “We don’t get to eat a lot of Atlesian dishes, much less anything palace fancy.”

How uncouth; still, it would be impolite to just ignore her, so Weiss asked the obvious topic, “What kind of food are you used to eating?”

As she suspected, Yang brightened up even more, “Oh man, lots of stuff. There’s a whole lot of meat in our diets, like...” She made a gesture in the air, a wide sweep of her hand that got uncomfortably close to her face and Weiss couldn’t stop herself from flinching away. Yang didn’t notice, too engrossed in her story about some beast she liked to hunt back in Vale.

Weiss let her thoughts wander, chiming in every once in awhile to indicate that she was still listening. She wondered if she should tell Ozpin about what she’d found; the scroll still plagued her thoughts. Moreover, if there were other scrolls or books about that time period, maybe she could find some answers.

Still, the way Glynda had lied to her earlier gave her pause, if they knew something and weren’t telling her, something about the monsters, could she really trust them with this? What could they possibly be hiding? Were they the ones that were responsible for this problem in the first place?

No, she pushed that thought away, Ozpin had always been enigmatic and Glynda was downright scary sometimes, but Weiss could tell they were both genuinely good people. Besides, they were powerful mages and trusted figures, if they were to launch an attack against Atlas, they had the access to go right for the heads.

A gentle touch on her arm brought Weiss back from her thoughts and she realized she’d been picking at her plate, “Are you alright?” Yang voice, now in nearly a whisper, brushed against her ear.

Weiss looked up into kind, purple eyes, “I’m okay.” She answered after a pause, what an unusual color, “Forgive my inattention, I didn’t mean to get lost in thought.” 

“It’s fine, I understand that you must have a lot to think about.” Yang said and Weiss nearly flinched at the sheer feelings she expressed. She was an open book to Weiss, heart totally on her sleeve and filled with compassion. They really did come from different places, a girl this unguarded would get eaten alive here.

Inexplicably, that thought made Weiss a little sad

“I have to drop by the Academy after this.” Weiss found herself saying, “Would you like to accompany me? I could show you around.”

She wasn’t entirely sure why she offered, the Academy was a place very close to her heart, but Weiss wasn’t going there on a social call. In fact, she though that she might have to break into the restricted section again if Headmaster Ozpin wasn’t forthcoming. It wouldn’t due to have a non-mage with her if she had to resort to that. Then again, it was the middle of the day, perhaps a daring noon break in wasn’t the wisest idea.

“I would love to!” Yang looked very happy for a moment, then paused quite suddenly.

“What?” Weiss asked when she continued to hesitate.

“Well, I would really love to get to know you better, but,” Weiss felt her heart grow cold at the words, expecting the worst, “Well, would it be okay to bring my sister along?”

“Your sister?” Weiss exclaimed quietly. That wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Yes, the Academy is a place of magic.” The way Yang said it and looked at her for confirmation almost made it seem like she was asking a question. Weiss nodded anyway, even though it was obvious, “My sister… has magic.”

“She’s a mage?” Weiss asked, cutting her eyes back to the girl in question. She certainly didn’t seem like one. Untrained, perhaps? 

“Actually, she’s a sorcerer.” Yang’s words made Weiss whip her attention back so fast she nearly hurt something.

A sorcerer was a magic user that was incredibly rare. Unlike mages, a sorcerer didn’t need preparation, incantations, or components to create a spell. They just thought of something and made it happen nearly instantly. Most were specialized in a certain field and weren’t able to be as broadly useful as mages were, but where they focused, they excelled. Their magic was intuitive, not practiced, but if they did get training, they were a force to be reckoned with.

“What is her specialty?” Weiss asked, curiosity piqued.

“We’re not sure.” Yang said softly.

“How can you not be sure? You know she is one, but can’t pinpoint her specialty?” That didn’t make sense, usually a sorcerer was blatantly obvious about their powers.

“It’s only activated once.” Yang explained, leaning further towards Weiss to make sure the words stayed between them. “We know her mother was a sorcerer as well, but her powers were spiritual. She was well suited to fighting off the various spirits and entities that inhabit Vale. Most Valeans aren’t magically inclined, either, it’s just not something that runs in our lines. Summer was from Vacuo, far across the sea. After she died, there was no one left to teach Ruby.”

“How did it activate?” Weiss asked, turning closer towards Yang, excited to learn more. She tuned out the other conversations at the table, unaware of any eyes that might be on them at the moment.

“When we were younger and out hunting, we were attacked by a mother bear. In the beginning of spring.” Weiss winced, aware of that being the worst time for such an encounter. “I’m sure we looked like a tasty snack. The bear batted me away without a thought and had me on the ground.” 

Yang punctuated her story by pulling aside the fur covering on her shoulder and showing Weiss three deep scars that clipped across her collar bone. Weiss felt herself flush at such an indecent display, but still dragged her eyes over the golden tan skin, marred by white, jagged indents. She huffed and swatted Yang’s hand, forcing her to cover back up. Really, how uncouth.

“It was just about to take a bite out of my head,” Yang continued with only a slight grin at the scolding, “when Ruby jumped right at it with a cry and everything went white. We’re not sure what happened, but the bear roared and ran away in fright.”

That was far less informative than Weiss had hoped and it made her sigh. “Okay, all three of us will go then.” At Yang’s hesitant look, she glared, “Just three, you can leave your guards behind, I’m not entertaining a circus.” Yang looked sheepish, but nodded.

“What can you do?” Yang asked after a moment of silence, the two settled upright again in their chairs, “You’re a mage, right? Aren’t all Schnee’s?”

“We are; my bloodline is among the purest and strongest magic line in existence.” She lowered her voice slightly, “My father is the first non-mage to marry into our family in generations.” Then back to regular volume, “We’re summoners, first and foremost, but we also have glyphs we can create to do our bidding as well.”

“Like what?” Yang asked, eyes wide and bright with interest. Weiss found it hard to deny her the knowledge, even though it was quite common in Atlas. Yang had said Vale didn’t have many mages, so it was to be expected that she’d have questions.

“Well, they act as platforms and focuses. I can create one underneath an object and move it, even if it’s very far away. As long as I can see it. I can also stand on them to reach a higher place and form them as steps. Even at steep angles or even upside down, I won’t come off the glyphs unless I choose to. They also act as a shield, as well, though enough force should shatter them.”

“That sounds really neat.” Yang smiled crookedly at her and Weiss gave a small smile back, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to see first hand how they work. I don’t get to see magic a lot.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed.” Weiss let her smile grow into a slight smirk, “Perhaps tomorrow after our-”

“Date.” Yang cut her off with a wicked grin.

“Lunch.” Weiss said firmly, glaring at her, smirk dropping into a frown, “We could go to the training room and I’ll give you a demonstration.”

“Alright, it’s a deal, Princess.” Yang’s grin faded to something more endearing, something that Weiss returned after a moment of studying the slight curve of her lips.


	4. A Calm Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though her thoughts were always on the looming threat, sometimes it was too easy to feel like it was a distant problem.

Twenty minutes after lunch found Weiss, Yang, and Ruby walking across the Academy grounds towards the imposing obsidian building. Weiss was pleased to see that the two savages were properly awed. They looked around like tourists, standing out to the few students that roamed the grass, wide eyed and making noises at the sights. Weiss couldn’t keep the smug smile off her face as they asked her more about what they were seeing.

However, the closer they drew to the doors, the more Ruby’s excitement faded to apprehension. Weiss frowned at her for a moment, then realized what was happening. Gently, she rested her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, “It’s a little overwhelming, isn’t it?” 

“Huh, what is?” Yang asked, whipping her head to look at the two, expression falling into concern when she saw her sister’s paling face, “Ruby? What’s wrong?” She came to stand in front of them, hands coming up to grip Ruby’s arms just above her elbows. Weiss could see her thumbs rubbing circles into the skin there and felt an unexpected jolt of jealousy.

How long had it been since Winter touched her with such affection and worry?

“I don’t know.” Ruby said after a moment, voice quickening with the beginnings of panic, “I feel all funny inside, like when I ate all those cookies one time and couldn’t keep still.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow, but decided not to ask. Instead, she said, “It’s the Academy and it’s students. There’s a lot of energy here, I bet it’s the first time you’ve been so close to this much magic.”

“I can’t… I can’t go in there. It’ll split me apart.” Ruby whimpered, looking up at Yang with eyes that were beginning to shine with tears. Weiss could see Yang’s hesitation, the desire to protect her sister warring with the need for her to find out more about her magic. Ruby shifted on her feet, hips turning to point closer to back where they came from, as if Yang's hold on her was the only thing keeping her from bolting. 

Weiss decided to take things into her own hands before the soft hearted savage actually turned them all around. She used the hand on Ruby’s shoulder to turn the younger girl towards her, “Ruby Rose, you will listen to me.” She demanded, voice haughty and commanding. She managed to catch both barbarians’ attention, but she didn’t pay Yang any mind.

“Close your eyes.” Weiss continued, once those shimmery silver eyes locked onto her own. What was it with the barbarians and odd eye colors? “Take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly.” She waited until Ruby did so, feeling her shoulder relax under her grip.

“Good. What you’re feeling is magic, it’s natural to you and you need to stop fighting it. That’s why you feel like it’s going to tear you apart, you’re resisting. It’s thrumming through you right now, you can feel it, out of sync with your heartbeat. What you need to do is make the magic match your heartbeat.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Ruby asked in such a small voice that Weiss felt Yang shift beside them. Her own heartstrings were being pulled, the girl was so frightened.

“Do you like music?” Weiss asked and saw Ruby’s eyebrows furrow, then her head nodded, “Try to think of it like that. You control the tempo, the tempo doesn’t control you. Feel the beat of the magic and make it settle and listen to you. If you feel it slipping, take a slow, deep breath.”

Ruby struggled with this for several minutes, Weiss found herself counting the steadying breaths she took. One, two; four; six, until finally, her expression brightened, “It’s like war drums.” she breathed out in awe. “It feels just like our war drums, Yang. When they beat, I feel it in my chest. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.”

Weiss felt the moment when Ruby synced up to the magic around them, like when a wind suddenly dies down and everything becomes still. Then those shimmery eyes opened up, gratefulness burning in them so sincerely that Weiss had to let her hand off Ruby’s shoulder and take a step back.

Such honest feelings were almost painful to look at and it certainly seemed to be something that ran in the family.

“Thank you, Weiss.” Ruby said and Weiss just barely concealed her surprise, especially when it was quickly echoed by Yang. When was the last time someone other than Klein called her by her first name? Was the rarity the reason she felt so pleased by it? She wanted them to call her ‘Weiss’ again.

No, that wasn’t proper, she was the Crown Princess of Atlas, she should be addressed as such. These girls were her equals, though, a small voice reminded her, princesses in their own right. Except they weren’t, they were savages, no equal to an Atlesian.

“You’re welcome.” She finally said after a pause that was just a hair too long. Weiss silently berated herself for her lapse in manners, forgetting to correct the two on their usage of her first name. “Come on, let’s continue the tour.”

_________________

 

Once they finally got through the front doors, the rest of the tour went off without a hitch. Weiss showed them where the classrooms were and let them peek through the windows into some of the lessons. To Ruby, she explained in more detail what each was about, trying to get her used to some of the more technical terms. Weiss was surprised to find Yang paying just as much attention and, after a while, began including her more in the magical discussion.

There was no way a non-mage could ever fully appreciate what it was like to be able to control these forces, but she supposed that as long as she had attention, she was happy to keep talking.

After swinging by the library, where she and Yang found it difficult to pull Ruby away, they finally made their way to the Headmaster’s office. Weiss came to the closed door and drew herself up, taking a breath, schooling her features, and smoothing down her skirts. Then she gave three, polite, measured knocks. She noticed movement behind her and realized the two barbarians had taken her lead and were fixing their clothing and hair to look more presentable.

It was just a little endearing.

The door in front of her swung open before she could put any more thought into that. There was Professor Goodwitch, with the same stern expression she always had. “Your Highness.” She greeted, then glanced behind her at the barbarian sisters and slowly raised an eyebrow.

“Hello, Professor. I brought our visiting Valean friends by to introduce them to the Headmaster. Do you have some time to spare? I think he’ll be interested to meet them.” Weiss held back an impish smile, trying to keep her features schooled as she normally did.

The Professor nodded after a moment of thought and stepped aside so that Weiss and company could enter the office. Weiss didn’t even have to glance back to know that Yang and Ruby were looking around in awe. The room was huge, high walls lined with bookshelves, but only half contained actual tomes. The other half was filled with antiques and magical trinkets and trophies of all shapes and sizes.

Weiss used to marvel at his collection every time she came to his office, but the wonder had long faded as she grew. Still, looking over her shoulder and seeing the two girls’ amazement, she couldn’t help but smile just a little. Witnessing someone experiencing excitement from normally familiar sights was a surefire way to rekindle a person’s interest and Weiss was not immune to this phenomenon.

At his oddly shaped desk sat the Headmaster, fingers threaded together in front of him, papers spread neatly across the surface. He looked up at them with a neutral expression at first, studying the newcomers, then his lips shifted into a slight smile, “Ah, Your Highness. Welcome, what can I do for you today?”

“I came to introduce the visiting Valean princesses. This is Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose.” Weiss motioned to each girl in time, listening as they politely greeted the Headmaster. Turning back to the Headmaster, Weiss paused before continuing. Ozpin’s eyes were glued to Ruby with barely hidden interest. “Ruby is a sorcerer without any training.”

“I see.” Ozpin said simply and Ruby shifted uneasily as he looked her over quietly, “You have silver eyes.”

Weiss blinked in surprise, glancing at Yang to see a similar expression of confusion on her face. Weiss lifted her shoulders slightly when the blonde raised a questioning eyebrow, then they both turned attention back to Ruby.

“Um?” Ruby squeaked, “Yeah?” It seemed she was just as taken aback.

“That’s a very rare trait.” Ozpin remarked calmly, “Did you know that most sorcerers are marked with unusual eye or hair colors? It’s a side effect of the nature of their magic. Miss Xiao Long, I can see that you also have an odd eye color.”

“Uh, I’m magic touched. When I was a baby, my dad says my eyes used to be blue. Now, well, I’m a strange case, my eye color depends on my mood.” Weiss looked at Yang in interest as she spoke, but the other girl only winked, “It’s kind of a long story.”

“If I may hazard a guess, Miss Rose, I’d say that your mother was a sorcerer as well?” Ozpin asked, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth.

“Yeah! How’d you know?” Ruby exclaimed, taking a step closer to the desk. Ozpin waved her into a chair and she plopped down without ceremony.

Weiss took Yang’s elbow and guided her to a small couch a few steps away from the desk, on the side of the room near all the trinkets. Yang leaned her arm on the back of the couch and reached out to grab a wooden totem, but Weiss knew that she was still keeping an ear on Ruby and Ozpin’s conversation. Her eyes kept flicking to the side the pair was on, fingers endlessly turning the totem in her grasp.

“Sorcerer bloodlines are very strong, even stronger than mage bloodlines.” The Headmaster was explaining, “If a mage were to marry a non-mage, their child will most likely be a magic user, however, they will be less capable than their magical parent overall. If that mage has offspring with a non-mage, there’s a higher chance their child will be a non magic user and if they are not, they will be exponentially less strong in abilities than the magical parent.”

“However, it’s quite easy to restore magical power to a bloodline because mages are quite common, especially in Atlas. It takes only two generations to make a noticeable difference in the magical power in a mage line.” Ozpin paused, Weiss thought for dramatic effect, “However, almost the opposite is true for a sorcerer line.”

Weiss could practically hear Ruby’s gasp of interest, fully taken in by the story, “If a sorcerer has a child with a non magic user, the child will always be a sorcerer and they will have the same capabilities as their parent. But, if a sorcerer has a child with a mage, their child will be a mage of regular power and there’s almost no chance of a sorcerer showing up in the line again.”

“And if two sorcerer’s have a child?” Ruby asked, voice an intent whisper. Weiss saw Ozpin’s lips pull up into an amused smile.

“No one knows. Sorcerers are so rare that there’s never been a recorded case of that happening.” Ruby made a quiet, awed sound and Yang chuckled quietly. When she turned to her, Weiss saw such tender love in the way Yang watched her younger sister and almost felt jealous again. “There’s a few very good books on the subject in our library, if her highness doesn’t mind, I can give her a list to check out for you.”

“Oh, Weiss! Can we, please, please, please?” Ruby whipped around and pegged Weiss with the most tragic puppy eyes she could muster. Even if she hadn’t already been planning on getting Ruby what she needed, Weiss would have found herself powerless against the strength of such a devious weapon. 

All her years fencing in the court and here she was, defeated by a soft pout and shining silver eyes.

Still, she wasn’t about to let it seem like this was having an effect on her and Weiss made a show of rolling her eyes, “Ruby, that’s the whole reason I brought you here. I was already planning on getting you the books you needed.” She huffed and turned to the headmaster, reaching out to take the list Ozpin handed her, “We’ll head there in a few moments. I actually had to speak to the Headmaster about something privately.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Yang stood and grabbed Ruby’s shoulders, steering her outside, “We’ll wait for you.” Weiss nodded and folded the list, tucking it into a pocket hidden within her large sleeves. 

She waited to hear the click of the door shutting before turning her full attention to the Headmaster, “We had a Council meeting before lunch today, I suppose you’re already aware that the General has returned?”

The Headmaster nodded, “Yes. I was informed as soon as he approached the gates.” This information didn’t surprise Weiss in the slightest. The headmaster knew most everything that happened in the city and even some of what happened out of it. She wondered if she should worry that he had such solid methods of gathering information, but it had always been beneficial to the Crown, so Father had let it continue.

Still, he could not know about what went in the Council Chambers itself. “The battle was an ambush and the General thinks it’s an inside job.” She laid it out bluntly, but without accusation. There was no need to dance around the topic or to come across as hostile. Besides, she didn’t believe Ozpin or Glynda were to blame, perhaps another of the teachers or even a student, but never the Headmaster and the Professor.

Still, she was concerned by the look the two shared, faces filled not with surprise, but with resignation. They did know something; maybe they weren’t directly responsible, but they were withholding information.

“I must speak with the General and his Majesty at once.” The Headmaster finally said after a few moments of thought.

“You know something.” Weiss said, voice falling flat in a displeasure that bordered on rudeness. She ignored the way Glynda shot her a sharp look for her tone, refusing to apologize; she was still unhappy at being lied to earlier. Especially when it came to something as important as this.

“I have my suspicions, but I must speak to those two first. Only the three of us are privy to the secrets of this city.” The Headmaster said, voice reasonable and light. Weiss felt herself bristle, she was not a child any longer, she didn’t need to be kept at the kids table like this.

“I’m the crown princess and a fully fledged mage. These secrets will be mine someday, let me help, let me come to this meeting. I’ve been researching, maybe I can even-”

“Ms. Schnee.” Glynda’s cold voice cut her off sharply. “If you were really ready for such responsibility, you wouldn’t pout like a child when being denied it. The headmaster has good reason for not including you and you will respect that.”

Weiss was furious; how dare she speak to her Princess like that? If Glynda didn’t have such a hand in raising her and teaching her, Weiss had half a mind to drive her from the Academy altogether. Her mind flashed to the books she’d taken from the restricted section earlier this morning and she felt a swell of haughtiness. 

She didn’t need them, she would figure this out on her own. Schooling her features, Weiss pretended to take a calming breath, making her face look a little chastened. Not too much, she was still a princess, “Yes Professor.” She said, drawing her tone down in faux remorse.

Glynda eyed her suspiciously for a long moment and Weiss nearly held her breath. Would she buy it? Finally, Glynda nodded slowly, “Okay, you can go. If there’s any update that you need to know about, we’ll keep you informed.”

Weiss gave a small curtsy, face still down in a mask of guilt, then turned and headed for the door. Just before she exited, she let her face fall into it’s normal look. To Hell with them, she was not a child and she didn’t need their help. 

Stepping out the door, Weiss raised an eyebrow to see Yang and Ruby playfully wrestling in the hallway. Yang had the smaller girl in a headlock and Ruby was desperately trying to elbow her in the stomach, only to bounce off tightened abdominals. They didn’t even hear the click of the door shutting behind her.

“Stupid. Hard. Muscles.” Ruby grunted with each thrust, only succeeding in making her sister laugh.

“Come on, Rubes. All you have to do is say ‘Yang is the greatest mind of our lifetime’ and I’ll let you go right away.” Yang teased, tugging gently and nearly knocking Ruby off balance.

“Never! You tyrant, I’ll never- Weiss!” Ruby exclaimed, finally noticing her presence. “Woauh!” She cried out as Yang’s arm loosened suddenly and she pitched forward, only saved by Yang’s quick reflexes in catching the back of her cloak.

“Uh, Weiss!” Yang’s face flamed, one hand helping Ruby straighten and the other playing with her hair, “How long have you been there?”

Weiss slowly raised an eyebrow, watching them squirm under her gaze. The situation she’d caught them in was absurd, a totally improper way for royalty to act. And yet, Weiss still found something endearing about it. Maybe it was the way it seemed to shock her from her looming bad mood or maybe the way she found herself wanting to play along. She wasn’t sure, but there was something that made her want to tease them. 

After counting to ten in her head, she finally let her lips tug up into a slight smile, “Long enough. Now, come on, let’s head back to the library.” She could practically hear them both sigh in relief. What did they think she was gonna do?

Scold them, probably, that would have been the proper thing to do. Except no one was around, they weren’t making a mess or disturbing anyone, so she supposed she could let it slide. Just this once.

Still, she couldn’t help saying after a few steps, “You know, we actually do have places like the gym if you want to rough house like children.” She grinned when twin embarrassed groans reached her ears.

____________________

After getting the books Ruby needed, the three headed back to the palace, meeting up with the barbarians’ bodyguards outside the gate that separated the Academy and the castle. Weiss felt herself tense as she met Blake’s angry golden eyes, schooling her features to the neutral mask she used when she went to court.

If they noticed the change, Yang and Ruby didn’t mention it, Weiss doubted they did, though. Both were far too interested in the small stack of books each carried; they had the top books open and were already reciting facts to each other like excitable children.

After saying her goodbyes, Weiss split from the group to hurry inside to do her own studying. She hadn't forgotten about the books she'd filched from the restricted section of the library and she needed time to go over them. With her schedule cleared until dinner, now was perfect to do that.

Coming back to her quarters was like a breath of fresh air after the long morning. No one would be here in the room, but the servants we're only a ring away. Weiss swept into her chambers, through the sitting room, past the tea room, and into her bedroom.

Sure enough, there was her cloak as she'd instructed, folded around the books and left alone at the foot of her bed. Smiling, pleased at the rat faunus's obedience, Weiss drew the cloak open and pulled the four books out one by one.

History of Ancient Summoning Rituals, A Study of Banned Summons, The Creatures of Grimm and Other Fairy Tales, and The Most Infamous Summoners in History. If her hunch was correct, Weiss would be able to find what she needed among these titles. 

Gathering the books, she took then to her small study desk in the corner of the room and set them down carefully, piling parchment and other, smaller books around them to hide them from normal sight. She then went to a small rope that hung from a circular opening in the wall and gave it a sharp tug.

She would call a servant in to take her cloak to be washed, ask for a cup of coffee, then get to work. In almost no time, the door to her chambers opened and Weiss heard soft, but deliberate footsteps come into the rooms.

She had to smile, only Cherry ever made noise when she walked around her and Weiss so appreciated the gesture. She'd learned early on the Weiss hated being snuck up on, so she made it a point to put force into her steps when around her. Sure enough, Cherry poked her head into the bedroom, floppy ears perked up on top of her head, upon spotting Weiss, she came fully into the room and gave a little bow.

“How may I be of service, Your Highness?” Her familiar voice was welcome after the day Weiss had had and she quickly explained her needs to her favored servant. However, something made her pause before dismissing Cherry; the scroll she’d found with all those faunus names.

“Cherry,” Weiss began hesitantly, “What’s your last name?”

It took a moment for her to answer and Weiss waited patiently, correctly guessing that she was shocked at the question. Finally, she said quietly, “Singleton.”

“Do you have family, Cherry?” Weiss felt ashamed to realize that she had no idea about this girl. She had no idea even the names of most of her servants, they were people, weren’t they? Shouldn’t she try to get to know them?

A small voice in the back of her head screamed at her. Who knew if these filthy animals might have ties to The White Fang, she shouldn’t try to get close, she should be on guard around them always.

Except they were people that serviced her for years in an intimate setting, people that had plenty of chances to slit her throat while she bathed or changed. They could have poisoned her if they wanted her dead, they could have done so at any time.

Maybe she could just start with Cherry. Start nice and slow.

“I do.” The girl was saying, ears folded back warily. Weiss gestured for her to go on and she reluctantly said, “I have parents in the mines and two brothers and two sisters at home in the city.” 

“Which mine?” Weiss asked curiously. Mine work was notoriously dangerous and Cherry had both parents there? Perhaps she should make time to check on the conditions of said mine, just to be safe.

Cherry looked deeply uncomfortable now, “Your Highness, have I done something…?”

Weiss realized with a start that Cherry thought she was in trouble, that Weiss was trying to find an angle to punish her. Her heart clenched in pain, was she really so terrifying? She didn’t mean to be. Or did she?

“Quite the opposite, actually.” Weiss said after a moment, “You haven’t been with me for very long, but in that time I’ve found you, not just adequate, but a spectacular attendant. Forgive me if I startled you, that wasn’t my intention.” She waved at Cherry dismissively, “You can forget the line of questioning, please, continue your duties.”

It used to be that she was proud of her carefully crafted icy demeanor, Weiss mused as she turned her back to Cherry, listening to her walk away shortly after. What was wrong with her today? Was it just today? It had to be, before today, she hadn’t cared a lick what her servant’s last name was, much less about her family.

Of course, before today she hadn’t suspected her ancestors were responsible for a faunus genocide.

Certainly she knew that her father wasn’t a good person, not to her or to anyone, but she’d thought she was better than him. It was true that she never struck anyone, not in anger anyway, but she certainly remembered blowing up at servants that annoyed her. She’d definitely said the words ‘filthy faunus’ more places than just inside her head. 

A sudden intense fear shot through her; was she turning into her father?

Weiss sat down hard at her desk, shaking her head. No, she wasn’t turning into that monster and she had perfectly good reasons to be wary of the faunus, even her own servants. She had not forgotten the impact The White Fang had had on her life and the lives of those around her. She hadn’t forgotten that faunus terrorists were the reason she couldn’t even enter the city any more.

She hadn’t forgotten the sweet old lion faunus working at her favorite bakery that tried to poison her when she was just a child. The way he’d screamed that she was the spawn of demons as the guards dragged him away.

A chill under her hands brought her back to the present and Weiss looked down at where her clenched fists rested on the desk. A thin coating of ice was beginning to spread out in a circle from where her hands met the surface and Weiss jerked them up to stop her out-of-control magic.

“Dammit.” She muttered, forcing herself to take a few deep breaths. She was getting herself worked up over nothing and threatening the papers on her desk. Taking a deep breath and shaking her head, Weiss tried to clear herself of these thoughts.

She needed to study, there was too much at stake to let these things overwhelm her. Weiss grabbed the first book on the stack she’d brought in and resolutely opened it in front of her.

_________________

By the time dinner rolled around, Weiss had only learned a few facts; Grimm were really old and powerful, their first master was a woman, and the towers were created specifically to keep them out. Weiss schooled her features as she entered the dining hall, disturbed by what else she found in the books she’d gathered.

Censorship.

Whole pages were torn, blacked out, or cut up; the only book that hadn’t been was the book on fairy tales and that was in the style of an old children’s story. She was almost afraid to handle that one, it was so fragile and falling apart, its pages yellowed and rounded with age. Restoring the books was not out of the question, but it would take time that she wasn’t sure they had.

Weiss was troubled and distracted at her place at the table, she honestly couldn’t have told you any conversation she’d had. She had to tell Yang to repeat herself three times before just apologizing and telling her that she had a lot on her mind and they could talk during their lunch tomorrow.

And that was another thing; Yang, she wasn’t even sure what to do about her. Certainly they seemed to get along so far, but this was something that had side swiped her just this morning. With the crisis going on, she hadn’t even had time to think it over. Certainly it would be beneficial for them to get along and the barbarian had already proven she could be bearable to be around for a few hours at a time.

Weiss didn’t want to be one of those arranged marriages that fought constantly. She’d seen others nobles like that, trying to undermine each other with their petty bickering. Such behavior was indicative of a weakness of character and she had no respect for those that acted like children around someone they didn’t like. Especially when they couldn’t control themselves in public.

Either way, that was a problem for tomorrow; now she wanted to focus on the Grimm. If it was really an inside job the way they thought, then the only feasible way to get them would be to bypass their defenses. Weiss knew that if even one tower fell, the barrier would fall, that was the nature of rituals, even if she didn’t know the exact spells.

The real question was; what would it take to knock one down?

She needed to know what their forces were like, what protection spells they had, what weapons. She could help them, set traps, enchant items, whatever they needed. Except… She knew she’d never be allowed near the towers outside the city. She suspected that the Council would be against it on principal, purely because it was she that suggested it. 

Perhaps she could talk to General Ironwood, see what he was planning, then offer her suggestions. The General was a reasonable man, surely he’d listen to her, he’d seen these creatures, he knew the threat they posed. Weiss was confident he’d welcome her input.

Path decided, Weiss was able to focus better on dinner. She really was hungry and she’d been missing the conversations around her, which was rude, so she took a breath and tried not to worry.

About that time, a warm hand lightly squeezed her shoulder, “Hey.” Yang whispered quietly, “You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Weiss smiled at her, trying to reassure.

“Good, good, uh, hey.” Yang began in a tone that Weiss immediately knew she wasn’t going to like, “So, for our lunch tomorrow, do you mind if Blake tags along. She… Kinda won’t let me go off alone.”

Weiss gritted her teeth, displeased at the thought of having to spend the afternoon with those judging eyes on her. She glanced across Yang and met that animalistic glare, raising an eyebrow, “What about today?”

“I snuck out.” Yang explained, “Blake is a really good bodyguard and she takes it seriously, she wasn’t happy with me ditching her. So, for tomorrow, no ditching; she said if I do it again she’ll string me up by my thumbs.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, “Fine. We’re not leaving the grounds anyway. We’ll go to the gardens and have a picnic, how does that sound?”

Yang smiled, “Sounds great.” And just like that, it was settled and dinner moved on.

________________

Early the next morning, Weiss decided that she was going to seek out the General just after breakfast. He would most likely still be on the castle grounds due to his injuries, so long as the stubborn man actually listened to the healers, and Weiss knew he’d taken up residence in the East Wing guest quarters. If she saw him at breakfast, she’d get him to speak with her and if not, she’d hunt him down from there.

She honestly didn’t expect him to come to the dining hall, he was a very private man and on the occasions that he did stay at the castle, he was known to take breakfast and lunch outside the dining hall. Weiss suspected that when he did come to join them for dinner, it was on her father’s orders. Father loved the facade of normalcy and he went to great lengths to act the pleasant host.

Which is why she stuck to her own eating schedule so rigidly. She’d gone through a rebellious stage just after Winter had joined the military and refused to eat with him. She’d felt that it was his fault her big sister had left and she wanted nothing to do with him. Weiss wasn’t sure if it was Winter’s leaving or her rebellion that made him start to pay closer attention to her, but he told her that if she didn’t come to the dining hall for every meal, he’d have her sent to the infirmary and force fed through a tube.

It was also around that time that he started giving her private Lessons; her hand came up to trace the scar across her eye lightly.

With a sigh, Weiss shook the thoughts from her head, her rebellion was quelled after that. Or at least, it went underground, and she put on the facade of being a good girl. Well, Weiss supposed it wasn’t like she plotted against him or anything, she just wore her hair in elaborate plaits and spent as much time at the Academy as she possibly could. 

Coming into the dining hall and putting on a neutral expression, Weiss saw Yang wave at her, but not from her usual seat. Weiss smiled slightly as the other people sitting at the table turned to greet her as well. She’d thought that it was just going to be the barbarian entourage and Father, but she was surprised to see Ozpin and the General had taken over her and Yang’s regular chairs.

Weiss, not letting her surprise show, swept over and sat down between Yang and the General, greeting the table and then them both in turn. No sooner had Weiss settled and gotten food on her plate, did Yang turn to her with a grin.

“Ready for today?” The blonde asked, practically bouncing in her chair. Across the table, Weiss noticed Ruby making a similar movement and nearly laughed. They really were sisters.

“Are you ready?” Weiss countered, taking a few small, measured, delicate bites of food. 

Yang actually giggled and Weiss couldn’t stop the surprised raise of her eyebrow, “I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been betrothed before and I think it just hit me that we’re kinda gonna be together forever?”

“Well, if today doesn’t go well, there’s always divorce.” Weiss shrugged nonchalantly and took another bite. When she looked up into Yang’s horrified face, she realized that was certainly not the right thing to say. “I’m just kidding.” She hurriedly reassured, even though that was a lie, “Death do us part and all that.”

Yang laughed awkwardly, cheeks flushing in embarrassment, “Of course, right. Uh, anyway, I was wondering if you would mind showing me around town after lunch?”

Weiss was very glad she didn’t have any food or drink in her mouth at the moment Yang asked, because she would have done something very unladylike with it in surprise. “How about,” Weiss said once she could manage words, “We talk about that over lunch?” This was not the place to have such a discussion.

She could see that Yang was surprised that her answer wasn’t immediately yes and her face fell into concern. She was going to ask what was wrong, but Weiss shook her head and Yang instead just said, “Okay then.”

Relieved to have avoided a scene, Weiss turned her attention to the General. He was absently munching on a piece of toast, one ear on the conversation between Father and Ozpin. She didn’t feel bad at interrupting, “General.” she called softly to him.

The General turned towards her and Weiss was shocked to see the dark bags under his eyes and the stubble forming on his chin. James Ironwood was normally one of the most well kempt and responsible people she’d ever met. He was the face of Justice in her eyes, always moving forward with the best interests of their people at heart.

What she saw now was a man who was injured physically and mentally, the recent loss having gouged a huge chink in his armor. While healers could help with bruises and broken bones, it took more than a day to get over watching so many of his men die.

“Yes?” He murmured and Weiss hoped that she’d schooled her reaction to his haggard appearance.

“General,” She tried again, “May I have a word with you after breakfast? I’ve had some thoughts about our defenses that I’d like to go over with you.”

“I won’t be available immediately after breakfast.” He revealed, “There’s to be a meeting I must attend. However, catch me in my study in two hours, I’ll be glad to meet then.”

Weiss nodded, “Yes, General.” She said in agreement and turned back to her meal.

______________________

The talk with the General hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped. When she’d met him in his study, he’d been visibly agitated and refused to give her information or let her help. “We have everything under control.” He’d said as though rehearsed.

To Weiss, it was apparent that his meeting hadn’t gone well and she was painfully curious at what had transpired. More than that, she wasn’t happy at being dismissed so easily and so it was with a sour outlook that she met with Yang at the main entrance to their gardens.

The Schnee Palace Gardens were a sight in and of itself. When she was very young, Weiss remembered that they’d held tours of the grounds and parts of the castle, always ending in the gardens. Her mother had loved the gardens and thought that the tours humanized them to the masses.

Well, that didn’t matter now.

The gardens spanned about 35 acres and were full of hundreds of species of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Almost all were in the Schnee colors of blue and white, except for the occasional burst of red, pink, yellow, and purple, with the green of the leaves and stems of course. Stepping directly outside the main back entrance to the palace, the gardens sprawled before her, the wind bringing with it the sweet scent of the flora.

She had to travel down a set of wide, curved stairs to reach where Yang was waiting for her, oohing and awing at the baby blue hydrangea bushes that lined this entrance to the garden proper. Unbidden, Weiss’s eyes flicked to the left, where the curve of the stairway led to a small patio. It had been her mother’s favorite spot to escape to and offered the best view of the grounds.

Weiss jerked her eyes away and back towards her betrothed, not interested in reliving those memories. She spared a glance at the Faunus bodyguard, noting the disdainful arch of finely plucked eyebrows, before deciding it would be best to just ignore her. It was obvious that the Faunus had it out for her and this day wasn’t about her anyway. In fact, Weiss would be more than pleased if her having fun with Yang upset the Faunus.

Just that thought was already cheering her up and she gave Yang a small smile when the barbarian finally heard her approach and turned to greet her. “Weiss! Good afternoon.” She held up a wicker basket, careful not to jostle it’s contents, “I grabbed lunch from the kitchens, so we can just go whenever you’re ready.”

Weiss motioned to a small path between the hydrangeas and began walking, “I’m ready. We’ll head to the gazebo in the west part of the gardens, it’s got a lovely view of the pond.” Weiss leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “And it’s far enough away that the swans won’t bother us.”

“Swans?” Yang asked in confusion and slight worry. “What are swans?”

“You don’t have them in Vale?” Weiss asked, even though it was a stupid question and one born purely from surprise. When Yang nodded, she gave a slight smirk, “Count yourself lucky. Pretty, but they’re dreadful creatures. Big, white waterfowl, and I do mean foul; they have teeth and don’t care how much bigger you are, they’ll attack for no reason.”

Yang gave a laugh, then trailed off uncertainly, “Surely they can’t be that bad? They’re just birds.”

Weiss gave her driest, most sidelong look, “They’re mean and hateful demons in disguise. I despise them and if you think for a moment that they won’t send even the fiercest warriors running screaming in the other direction, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“They’re just birds.” Blake repeated from behind them. Weiss turned her dry look on her and saw her roll her eyes, “I think we can handle a couple birds.”

“If you think you’re so tough, feel free to chase after them, but you won’t fare better than any other cat that’s tried.” Weiss smirked, watching Blake immediately frown, trying to decide whether she wanted to be angry or not.

Weiss didn’t care and turned back to Yang, “Anyway, the view is nice and it’s shaded.” She turned right once they came to a large fountain and continued down a path lined with small fruit trees and dotted with daffodils. “After that, we can stroll through the garden for a while and maybe even spar some before dinner?”

Yang notably brightened at that, “Yeah! I’m really interested in seeing what your magics can do. I don’t fight mages often.”

“But you have?” Weiss asked curiously, watching Yang nod, “What’s your normal tactic?”

“Don’t let them see you, then clock them in the head from behind.” Yang grinned, “Mages are pretty good at putting us out of commission. Plus, they hurt a lot. So many seem fond of fire, too, but I’m lucky I don’t have a problem with that kind of heat.”

“Your normal tactic is stealth?” Weiss couldn’t help eyeing Yang sceptically. 

It made the barbarian laugh, “I know, I’m certainly conspicuous. We usually fight on our own turf, though, which is densely packed forest and even some jungle. Our tactical paints help us blend in and so does our clothing.” Yang gestured down to her outfit, which Weiss could see showed even more skin than normal, “This is my normal outfit, actually. Dad said we only had to wear our good outfits to be introduced.”

There wasn’t much difference between the two, as far as Weiss could tell. Yang still wore her sturdy leather boots and a fur skirt that was slit up the outside side of her thighs to allow mobility. Weiss could see doe skin shorts just peeking out from underneath that kept her dignity. The skirt seemed much shorter than before, showing off thick, muscular thighs.  
Eyes traveling upward, Weiss dodged over her bare midriff, noting defined abs, dotted and marked with scars that came from a life of heavy fighting. Her chest was covered by more furs, the top held up by resting on just one, golden tanned shoulder. Weiss remembered that it covered the three scars Yang had gotten from a bear encounter, but there were yet more scars across Yang’s other shoulder and down her arm.

Weiss could guess that Yang was right handed just by the difference in scarring on her right from her left arm. She was used to leading with her right arm and so that seemed to take the brunt of each attack, marks criss crossing down her otherwise smooth skin all the way down to her bare hands.

Weiss realized that she’d been looking in an attempt to compare her remembrance of Yang’s formal outfit and hummed thoughtfully. “You certainly had more on.” She remarked, dead pan.

Yang chuckled, “Yeah, it’s stifling. I don’t see how you wear so many layers.” She gestured to Weiss’s casual dress. Casual was a lie, though, because nothing Weiss owned was casual; all her skirts were layered and full. She could be equally at home in these gardens as she would be entertaining dignitaries.

“I’m used to it.” Weiss shrugged, looking up as the gazebo came fully in sight, “Here we are.” The large structure was fairly simple in design, made of stone and metal, it was created with picnics in mind. The open area in the middle was split in two, housing two half circle metal tables and leather padded benches. The top was high enough to stand comfortably, with large regular openings to let in sunlight, but still shade the people inside.

Weiss motioned Yang ahead of her so that she could set down the basket and start pulling food out. As they set out the absolute feast the cooks had prepared, Weiss realized there were some unfamiliar dishes. Valean, she guessed by the amount of meat each held, and nothing that looked like it wouldn’t upset her stomach later. Still, she would try each one, for courtesy sake if nothing else.

After they were settled and food was dished out, to Blake as well, watching them while perched in the gazebo window in the full sun like a real cat, Weiss decided to break the ice. “Why don’t you tell me a little more about yourself and your country? I’m not as familiar with Vale history and culture as I should be.”

“Oh, uh, well.” Yang chewed quickly on a piece of meat and swallowed, “I wouldn’t say we have much of a culture, really. At least, not in the way you normally think of one. We’re all still trying to get along, after all, we’ve only been fully united for a generation.”

“What’s the history behind that?” Weiss asked curiously, delicately eating some greens.

“The forest is really thick, but there’s a bunch of different landmarks and so a bunch of people just started setting up near each one. All in all, there were about 16 different tribes, spread out throughout Vale and varying in power and numbers. And we were all at war with each other pretty much since forever.”

Yang paused to take a few bites of what Weiss assumed was beef from the color, then continued, “It’s probably why none of us are very good at magic. Too busy punching each other in the head to study.”

“You’re known as great warriors.” Weiss said helpfully, “So all that punching accounts for something.”

“Except that’s all we’re known for.” Yang said with a sad smile, “Did you know that each tribe actually has its own specialty trade? We boast some of the finest craftsmen in the known world and yet no one does business with us because they all see us as savages. My tribe has some of the best leather workers in existence. In fact, you wouldn’t know it, but my clothing has been treated, without magic, to be blade resistant. And that’s just what I know how to do.”

“You made your clothing yourself?” Weiss blinked in surprise.

“Mhmm.” Yang nodded firmly, “It’s not just leather working for us, since we hunt our own supplies, we’re also fabulous furriers. And until now, you didn’t know any of that and neither does the rest of the world. They think we force people to do our crafts, that we take slaves and steal stuff to sell at a high price later. People think we’re totally lawless! We actually have very strict anti slavery laws, among other things that prevent unsavory folks from doing just what people accuse us of.”

Weiss felt just a bit guilty, since she’d definitely been thinking uncharitable thoughts about the people of Vale as well. “That’s why this alliance is so important.” She murmured, “The King wasn’t exaggerating when he said it would legitimize you.”

“Yeah.” Yang sighed, “I knew what he was going to ask when we got in there, but I still wasn’t sure it would actually pay off. Things must be more dire than your father was letting on, huh?”

“Yes, things are going to be very difficult for us.” Weiss said diplomatically. She knew that exact numbers hadn’t been publicly released yet, “Still, that was risky of him, my father doesn’t take kindly to blackmail.”

“No risk, no reward.” Yang grinned, “Dad always likes to play it big. Besides, it paid off.” She winked at Weiss and she felt her cheeks heat up. Rolling her eyes and grabbing another item of food, Weiss tried to cover her embarrassment.

Things were silent for a little while as they focused on eating, Weiss even trying some of the Vale dishes and enjoying them as well. She couldn’t eat too much, worried that she’d need to put in extra time in the gym to burn it off, but she could certainly say they weren’t as bad as she’d feared.

Finally, as Yang nibbled on desert and Weiss sipped coffee, she decided to resume conversation, “So, tell me, what’s it like growing up as a Princess of Vale?”

Yang laughed a bit, “The whole monarchy thing is still pretty new to us, so it’s fairly casual. We do have detractors and challengers, there’s a reason we have bodyguards, but it’s all pretty relaxed. We don’t, like, live in a big palace or anything, just a nice wooden cabin.”

“What do you mean about challengers?” Weiss wanted to know; it was an odd thing to bring up.

“You see, strength is really important in our, uh, culture, I guess? So, while our rule is passed down through blood, if there’s any that think I’m too weak, they can challenge me to a duel. A weak leader, physically or otherwise, won’t be respected, so it’s good to have a duel five or six times a year, just to make sure I’m still popular.”

Weiss stared, aghast, “That’s so…. What happens if you’re beaten?”

“Well it’s kind of a… Judgement based thing? So, technically, I could lose and still retain my right as heir, however, if the audience deems my loss too great or my strength too weak, then I get booted and the right to rule passes to Ruby. In the event of no other siblings or family, then the winner gets the right. On top of that, if I’m beaten, the winner will get a reward, which is usually a seat on the council or whatever else they want within reason.” Yang paused, then added, “Death is strictly forbidden.”

Weiss was shaking her head, “That sounds awful. I couldn’t imagine having to fight people constantly like that.”

“It’s not so bad.” Yang reassured, “It’s literally how Ruby and I came to be and we also added Pyrrha to our family.” Weiss knew that her look must have screamed for clarification of that because Yang chuckled and continued, “You’ve seen how my dad doesn’t have a bodyguard? That’s because he used to have two of them; my mother and Ruby’s mom. For various reasons, neither have been with us for a long time now and, after all that, dad decided he didn’t want another bodyguard, but they earned their places at his side through combat.”

“Pyrrha,” Yang drew the word out dramatically, trying to distract Weiss from any questions she may have had about her and Ruby’s parentage, “Is a much more interesting story. See, she’s a super famous athlete in Mistral, but she had some bad stuff happen to her, so she left and traveled for a while until she ended up in our neighborhood. Ruby, of course, befriended her right away, so when Pyrrha expressed concerns with being made to leave, we suggested the challenge. If she won, she’d stay with us and no one would be able to take her against her will. Even if she’d lost, I still would have kept her, but she kicked my ass, so we didn’t have to worry about that.”

Weiss hesitated, then flicked her eyes to Blake. She was deadly curious, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to ask, “And her?”

Yang took a deep breath and Weiss could see her choosing her words carefully, “That’s a bit more of a personal story, but I will say that Blake and I have known each other since we were seventeen, so three years now.” She hastened to confirm, “She became my bodyguard because we work well together and it was the most natural thing in the world. There’s no one I trust more to have my back except my own little sister.”

“That’s high praise.” Weiss said, noting that Yang was two years older than her. She definitely didn’t look it. She wanted to ask about something else she’d noticed; the diversity among the Valean people she’d seen so far, “Does your country open up a lot to foreigners? I’ve noticed that a lot of your men have very unique colorings and looks.”

Not like in Atlas, was the unspoken words and even Yang seemed to catch onto that, “Yeah, we have a lot of rivers passing through our territory and we’re bordered by the ocean on one side, so we have a whole bunch of ports set up. Also, we try to be as welcoming as possible so that we can open ourselves up to trading with the world more.”

Weiss nodded, that made sense, they wanted to get a good reputation for their wares. “Atlas is much more insular, much more unfriendly.” Across the way, she heard Blake snort, but ignored it.

“Is that why you won’t go out into town?” Yang asked lowly. Weiss realized that she was trying to be nice, make it seem like they had privacy, but Weiss knew that with her faunus senses, Blake could hear every word clearly.

“The city isn’t safe for me.” Weiss said with a sigh, then looked down at her hands, “For many years, we’ve had trouble with a faunus terrorist group, The White Fang. For the most part, they were a peaceful organization in the world, but something happened to the leadership in Atlas. When I was a child, they became progressively more violent and unhinged, nothing more than feral animals roaming the street.”

“At first, it wasn’t so bad. Petty, and deserved, vandalism; broken windows, insults painted on houses and store fronts. Then they began to get rabid, assaulting people for no good reason; at night, then in broad daylight. And then the murders began, including…” Weiss trailed off, then swallowed hard, “People I knew. I grew up in a war zone and it was all the fault of those filthy bastards.”

“The worst part was, you couldn’t even tell who was a part of the group until they were offering you a poison filled pastry. So, no, I don’t go out into the city without a fully armed contingent of guards. Since it’s so distracting and time consuming, I usually just don’t bother going out anymore. I tend to keep to the Palace and the Academy.” And even going between the two, she was cautious.

Looking up from her study of her fingernails, Weiss noticed that Yang looked a little uncomfortable, eyes flicking between Weiss and what she could only assume was Blake, behind her. Turning, Weiss eyed the Faunus, noting her flattened ears, clenched jaw, and quaking shoulders. Her eyes burned with more anger and true hatred than Weiss had yet to see in them.

What was her problem now? Weiss felt frustration rise and she stood, hands on her hips, “What-” She began to say, but never got a chance to finish her thought.

A loud crack filled the air, making all three girls jump, quickly followed by another and another and another, followed by a huge boom and then a violent wind shook the trees and had their hair whipping their faces.

Eyes wide, all three girls raced out of the gazebo and onto the grounds, searching towards the way they thought the sound had come, “Was that an explosion?” Weiss heard herself ask, a hand shielding her face from the sun.

“I see smoke.” Blake announced, darting towards a tall tree and beginning to scale it to get a better look.

Weiss felt a terrible, sinking dread in her belly and knew that she just had to get a look, too. A swift wave of her hand summoned her glyphs, set at angles in the air and going high up to tree top heights. A series of practiced, graceful leaps had her pushing off each glyph, higher and higher until finally, she could see the land clearly.

Unfortunately, it seemed that it was just as she feared. 

Atlas was not a heavily wooded country, they had a lot of low, open farmland, occasionally dotted with bursts of tall, strong trees. Because of this, the stone and obsidian towers that dotted the landscape were easily visible from most places in the country. The obsidian towers of the Academy were the largest, but the eight defense towers Weiss had recently learned were actually fueled by sacrificial magic were still plainly visible. Except now there were only seven, the westernmost tower had been replaced by a thick, black plume of smoke. 

Weiss felt chilled straight to her bones; Atlas’s outer perimeter had fallen.


	5. To be a Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Children spend all their time wishing they were adults and adults spend all their time wishing they were children. However, the world keeps spinning, regardless of what a person might want. In the wake of the attack, Atlas is in chaos; Weiss just wants to be respected.

The palace was in chaos by the time the Weiss, Yang, and Blake made it back from the gazebo. Servants were gathered at the windows, panic rippling amongst them, members of the royal guard paced back and forth. Weiss even saw some Valean troops, in their mismatched leather, furs, and metal, roaming the hallways.

Klein met them almost as soon as they made it to the Main Crossroads, as Weiss liked to think of it. A huge hall that had paths leading to the rest of the palace, it was possibly the busiest area in the household, even more so now. They passed by the grand, arching staircases that framed the doors leading to the garden entrance, barely avoiding being jostled by the crowd flooding past them to get a better look at the smoke.

The ceiling was at least 20 feet high, revealing, if they looked up, the second floor through a balcony lined with ivory railings, jutting out above the door leading to the main entrance to the palace. Over their heads hung a massive, crystal chandelier, magical lights swirling within it’s delicate structure. The walls were white marble, trimmed with gold and silver on the bottom and at its crown. Matching sconces kept shadows from the wall with more magical lighting.

To either side of the room were identical, double doors, a hallway leading to the entrance of magnificent ballrooms, before splitting. The split nearer the front of the palace lead to the east and west wings and the split near the back of the palace lead to the throne and council rooms. The floor plan of the palace was mirrored, Weiss knew, the building combined with the rest of the grounds resembled the Schnee family emblem; a snowflake with 12 branches.

From their right, the east, came Klein, out of breath and with worry plain on his face. He looked relieved when he saw Weiss, “Your Highness.” He called, stopping in front of them, “His Majesty has asked that I make sure you return to your room safely.”

“My room?” Weiss asked in surprise, “But the tower, I can help with whatever they’re planning. I’ve trained and studied, I can do this.” He was shutting her out, like a child, treating her like she knew nothing useful. Weiss tried to keep her voice down, but it was difficult, especially with what Klein did next.

He turned to Yang and said, eyes flicking to Weiss only once, “His Majesty, the King of Vale, has requested that you join them in the throne room, your highness.”

Weiss felt her cheeks heat up and clenched her teeth, trying, and most likely failing, to keep the displeasure off her face. Klein didn’t mean the insult, but it still stung to be told she was shut out by her father while her betrothed was invited by her own. 

Yang must have been thinking along the same lines, because she turned to Weiss with blatant worry in her eyes, “Will you be okay?”

The kindness stung even more than her father’s rejection of her and Weiss fought not to snap at Yang, fought not to tell her exactly what she could do with her pity. “I shouldn’t be your main concern right now.” She growled lowly, through her teeth, glaring at the blonde, “What you should have your head on is the upcoming battle that will no doubt be brought to our doorstep before we’re prepared for it.” Not willing to see the emotion in those purple eyes any longer, Weiss turned on her heel and marched towards the west wing staircase, “Come along, Klein.”

She knew she was being cruel to him and felt regret for her sharp command as soon as her heels came into contact with the blue runner draped down the stairs. She waited until they were alone in the hall before speaking up again, “I’m only going along with this so you won’t get in trouble.”

“I know, Miss Weiss.” Klein was as understanding as he ever was and it just increased her guilt for ordering him around like he wasn’t the most important person in her life.

“I’m eighteen, Klein, he can’t keep treating me like I’m an incapable child.” She was pouting, hurt feelings and pride making her sound just like the child she so desperately didn’t want to be treated as. “How am I ever supposed to handle the Kingdom if he keeps shutting me out of any important discussions? Does he expect me to just marry young and let one of his chosen lackeys take over my duties for me?”

Maybe that was exactly it, Weiss thought bitterly, not for the first time. After all, women had no power and barely any agency, especially in the upper class. There had never been a solitary ruling queen in the entire history of the city. Even when a queen became a widow, it was expected for her son to take his place ruling and she give up the throne.

Things are different now, though, she remembered with a start, she was betrothed to another woman and someone not related to her father’s men. She would be a queen with a bride and as the only Atlesian in the union, she would have the most say in the rule. Before any of the traditional betrothal games began on her next birthday, the King of Vale had swooped in and turned her whole world on its head.

In a way, she was free. Sure, she wasn’t going to be marrying for love, but she’d never expected to. She certainly hadn’t been planning to marry a foreigner or a woman or someone that was both. That difference, while simple in theory, changed the course of her entire life.

Weiss realized that she’d fallen silent for most of the walk to her quarters and sighed, looking over at Klein. “What am I going to do?” She asked, meaning it as a general question, though she thought he might take her to mean about the most current problem.

“What do you want to do, Miss Weiss?” Klein asked, a certain tone in his voice that made her pay attention.

What was he really asking her? She had to focus, he was talking about the attack, the tower, or her father shutting her out again. What did she want to do about this situation? “Well…” She began slowly. What she wanted was to be in that meeting, but that was impossible. “I want to take a look at the tower. I need to see what happened with my own eyes up close, but that tower is days away on horseback and I can’t portal myself to a place I’ve never been before. Certainly not a place so far away without draining myself until I can’t get back.”

“Certainly not.” Klein echoed, then said meaningfully, “But you’re a brilliant mage, Miss Weiss, you can do anything you put your mind to. Anyone can… see that.”

Weiss turned her head to him so sharply it nearly hurt. The way he said that, he definitely meant something else. Her voice dropped to a whisper, “Are you suggesting that I do a scrying spell? Without permission?”

“Of course not, Miss Weiss, I said nothing of the sort. Even talking about that kind of thing could get me thrown in the dungeon.” Klein said sensibly. Scrying spells and any other form of spying magic were outlawed in the city unless under strict supervision from a select few mages. Father was so paranoid, but the spells were incredibly easy to cast and required only basic items. “However, if there’s anything I can get you, I’m always at your service.”

Weiss let out a disbelieving breath through her nose, “Klein, you’re amazing.” She remarked as they reached her door, “Ash from a recent fire, five lavender candles, a pitcher of water, and a map of the entire region. I should have the mirror in my room.” She dipped to kiss his forehead, “You’re always looking out for me.”

“And I always will.” Klein replied, smiling up at her, “I’ll have Cherry bring the water and candles. For relaxation, she’ll think. I’ll come back with the rest.”

Weiss swept into her room and had to force herself not to search for the mirror she needed; it wouldn’t do for Cherry to suspect that she might be doing anything out of the ordinary. She sat at her study desk and tried to relax while she waited, already gathering the power she’d need, as well as trying not to get too excited about the prospect of what they were doing. 

There was something thrilling about defying her father, she so rarely got to act out. When she was a child it was much easier to do so, but the danger from the threat posed by The White Fang had drained many of her options. She usually settled for doing twice as well as everyone else, because Father always expected her to fail. She never thought he’d praise her, but having him find nothing wrong was almost as good.

Her musings were interrupted by a knock at the door and Cherry’s voice announcing herself before coming in. Weiss tried not to look eager, having to keep her back to her attendant until she could get her face under control. Cherry had the candles and water, but also an uncertain look on her face.

“Your Highness, Klein asked me to tell you that His Majesty had called him away and that he ‘owed you a lullaby’. And that you would understand the reference?” The question was plain on her face and in her voice.

Weiss did understand and she scowled, turning away from Cherry. Her and Klein had come up with all sorts of spy code when she was a rebellious and fearless little child. ‘Owing her a lullaby’ meant that they would have to meet at night. Damn it all, her excitement turned to fury in an instant.

“Please leave the water and the candles on my desk. Then you can go, thank you.” Weiss managed to grumble out. It wasn’t Cherry’s fault this had happened, no need to take it out on her faithful attendant. 

Weiss waited until she heard the door to her chambers shut before slamming her fist into the top of the desk. It was just after noon, after dinner was still ages away; the wait would be unbearable.

________________

For the next seven hours, Weiss was in a state of unpleasant agitation. She was too unfocused to make any progress on her work, the castle was still bustling, so she was reluctant to leave her rooms, and she just could not sit still. Finally getting the call for dinner was a blessing and Weiss quickly made her way down.

She wanted to talk to Yang after dinner anyway, maybe she’d tell her what had gone on in the throne room. The table was filled more than usual, visiting nobles had come from all around, concerned about the inevitable attack, but Weiss could tell from the conversations that nothing was officially announced yet.

Weiss obediently took her place at the table, making her greetings to those around her and staying quiet during small talk and dinner. After her plate was cleared, however, she casually turned to Yang, leaning in close so that her whisper was just brushing her ear and no one else’s, “I wish to speak to you after dinner. Please accompany me to my quarters once we’re through here.”

Yang knew it wasn’t a request, but Weiss was gratified when she didn’t decide to argue. Instead, she nodded with a serious expression, then jerked her head to her bodyguard, eyebrows raised. Weiss sighed, but nodded anyway; it would be too difficult to try and convince Blake to stay behind.

Luckily for her nerves, Weiss didn’t have to wait much longer until it was proper to excuse herself. Yang and Blake were right behind her, but no one talked until they all finally made it up to the third floor to her quarters. Once they were seated and deemed far from prying ears, Weiss finally asked, “I wanna know what happened.”

“In the throne room, you mean?” Yang clarified gently. Of course that’s what she meant, what else could she have meant?

“Yes.” Weiss knew she sounded exasperated, but she couldn’t stop herself. She was stressed beyond belief about what was going on in her kingdom and sitting pretty while being told not to assist wasn’t helping, “Tell me everything, I have to know what’s going on.”

Yang exchanged a look with Blake, then leaned back against the wall, “Well, the basic run down seems to be that it was The White Fang that attacked the tower. It’s just that the tower isn’t the only problem that’s come up. Turns out there’s been Dust heists all over the country and it looks like the only way the Fang was able to attack the tower was with the power all that Dust gave them.”

“They had help. We already suspected it was an inside job.” Weiss said slowly, letting her brain turn over the information she had.

“It looks like there’s more to it than that. The Fang was organized and well armed. They had powerful magic on their side. They had knowledge of guard rotation and blueprints of the tower, those blueprints aren’t supposed to exist.” Yang went on, sighing heavily, “Ozpin seems to think there’s an informant inside the Academy that has ties to many outside forces.”

“How do they know the blueprints aren’t supposed to exist?” Weiss asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Ozpin said the first Headmaster destroyed the only set. Yet the attackers knew every weak spot; so either there was another set of prints or the attackers were there when the tower was built.”

“That’s not…. Theoretically impossible.” Weiss ventured with a shrug, but Yang gave her a look. “I can summon a wall of ice from thin air, we can do a lot with magic.” That was a gross oversimplification of how her elemental magic worked, but it made her point. “Knowing the guard location could be simple scrying, but that kind of magic leaves a signature behind, especially if it’s a more powerful version.” 

She was suddenly glad that her scrying attempt had been put off. If they hadn’t done a trace at the tower yet, then that could have lead them to her. Energy signatures lasted a length of time that grew with the power of the spell. “Were there survivors?”

“Two. They’re still unconscious, but the healers are hopeful they’ll wake soon. There’s plans to question them once they do.” Yang supplied.

“Has there been an investigation of the tower yet? Other than the preliminary?” Magical is what she meant, but Weiss didn’t think she’d have to clarify that much.

“Ozpin leaves at dawn, said something about a portal spell and they needed to gather energy for it?” Yang raised her eyebrows quizzically. 

“Since he’s going a long distance as well as through multiple magical shields, he most likely will gather multiple mages to save himself strength so that he’ll be able to conduct the investigation as soon as he arrives.” Weiss explained, “Depending on how long that takes, they can either bring him home the same way or they can send someone to meet him on horseback.”

Weiss folded her hands in her lap and mulled over what she knew for a long, long moment. “It seems to me that The White Fang is just muscle here. We have a small group of powerful mages on the inside, most likely posing as Academy students, then we have the summoner on the outside.”

“How would you even get fake students in the Academy?” Yang asked, chewing on her lower lip, “I thought you guys cracked down on all that stuff.”

“If they were born inside the country, yes. We can’t control what happens outside of our borders. We get plenty of mages that come in to study at the Academy for extra learning, we’re the largest resource of magic in the world. Most that come in from outside, however, are usually vetted from other magic schools. There are transcripts.”

“Do you accept people without transcripts?”

“I suppose it’s happened before. We have tests, Ruby would most likely be allowed entry due to the special nature of her abilities, but there are strict background checks, truthsayers, things like that. It’s much easier to have a transcript.”

“And faking a transcript?”

“Not impossible. Improbable, though. A good faked transcript would have to have high up influence within the school it’s coming from. Any bozo can forge some papers, forging magic school transcripts is a bit harder.”

Yang paused, “Because of the magic.” She said slowly, watching Weiss nod. “Maybe your imposter students have help from a different headmaster. Can’t get much higher up than that.”

“I would have guessed a record keeper, but not bad. I agree that it seems like the influence goes out much farther than just our country. However, the heads of all the schools know each other and they’re all wisened masters-”

“Suspicious, old guys.” Blake finally chimed in, gaining a glare from Weiss.

“Wisened masters that would suspect if one of their own wasn’t on the straight and narrow.” Weiss continued, “Especially Headmaster Ozpin.”

“They’re only human.” Blake said, tone somber, “Anyone can have the wool pulled over their eyes.”

“I can speak to Professor Goodwitch about our suspicions.” Weiss didn’t like thinking about the Headmaster as being so easily fooled, “Until the investigation, any ideas about The White Fang would be just speculation. They must be hiding somewhere and it’s only a matter of time before we sniff out those filthy bastards. We can send guards down to check the slums, if need be, everyone knows that’s where sympathizers hide.” 

Weiss looked up and noticed Yang’s tense face and Blake’s glare of utter contempt, “Don’t worry," She hastened to reassure them, "We will get them soon. In the meantime, has there been any updates on the rest of the Vale forces?”

Yang was silent for a moment before saying in a quieter voice than usual, “A scout came through this afternoon and the troops are only a couple days away. Once the bulk of our forces arrive, we’ll send them out to protect the perimeter of the city and hopefully prevent any siege. The specifics will be discussed among Dad and his men.”

“You’re expecting a siege?” Weiss asked sharply. It was a worrying thought; the city was a fortress and it had huge stores of food and its own well system, but it wasn’t impossible to starve them out, especially since there was a drastically reduced military force.

“Of course. Think about what we’re up against. Our enemy has an army that is totally obedient and doesn’t need to eat or drink. They’re the perfect siege weapons. Stand outside the enemy gate and wait until they starve.” Yang paused, “When a mage uses a summon, they don’t have to keep paying out energy, right?”

“No. We only pay the cost once, that’s why the perimeter towers are specifically catered to stopping summoned creatures. The towers are actually kind of genius, it doesn’t dissipate the creature right away, instead, it puts a backlash on the summoner that marks and drains them and then slowly pulls energy from the creature until they fade away. Technically, it will also weaken any magic cast through the barrier as well, which is why we sent the Mage Corp out with the army to confront the enemy, instead of staying here in the city. Well, that reason and also that line of sight make our aim and spell strength better.”

Yang was nodding slowly as she took this information in, falling into silence for a moment. It appears there wasn’t much else to discuss. “If there’s more information, I’ll bring it to you.” Yang finally said, locking eyes with Weiss, “I don’t like that you’re being cut out of this, you’re just as capable as Ruby and I.”

Weiss felt inexplicably touched by those words, allowing a small smile to grace her lips, “Thank you, at least someone has faith in me.”

However, as they rose and made for the door, the glare that Blake was still bearing down on her turned any good feelings she had into annoyance. What in the world was she about? It was like nothing Weiss said could wipe the superiority from Blake’s mind.

As they passed her to move into the hallway, Blake brushed by her shoulder none too gently. Fed up with her attitude and the constant, judging glares, Weiss finally demanded, “What is your problem? You’ve been glaring at me like I personally wronged you since we first met.”

Blake huffed, ears falling flat against her head. “My problem is you, you and your whole family.” Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw Yang sigh and put her hand to her head, but do nothing to stop her friend. Apparently, she’d been expecting this.

Weiss let out an insulted noise, “What for? We’ve never even met until now and you’ve been hostile since before even our first introduction.”

“Have we not? Or maybe you just don’t remember me. I’m from Atlas, I fled this city when I was just a little girl because of the disgusting practices of the royal family.”

“What are you even talking about? You’re just making things up, aren’t you?” Weiss crossed her arms and she could tell the accusation got a rise out of the Faunus from the way her shoulders jumped defensively. It was only due to Yang’s restraining hand on her shoulder that she didn’t take a threatening step forward, although Weiss could clearly see her desire to. She pointedly planted her feet; she would not be intimidated in her own home.

“I’m talking about what you have done and are doing to the faunus of this city!” Blake growled and Weiss rolled her eyes. They were always being accused of racism; why? Because they wanted to make the slums not a run down mess? Because they had such a harsh campaign against those faunus terrorists? Maybe the mines weren’t as safe as they should be and they did have a high concentration of faunus vagabonds in their dungeons, but even if Blake had a point, Weiss wasn’t about to admit it now.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, we’re making the city a better place for everyone.” Weiss explained as though she were talking to a small child.

“Is that what he’s told you to say?” Blake scoffed, “To never admit what you’re really doing to the faunus of your city? You disgust me, your family has been complacent in faunus oppression since the founding of Atlas.” 

Weiss hesitated and caught herself thinking back to that strange scroll she’d found in the Academy, the one that looked so much like a record of the dead. Her father had always been a cruel man, she’d known he’d had a heavy hand with the city as much as with her, but finding that scroll proved that it went back much farther than a single generation. Faunus genocide; did Blake even know about that much? The Faunus must have seen the expression on her face change a bit, because she pressed on.

“You must know, there’s no way you can’t know. What the Schnee family have done to the faunus is the worst kept secret in the continent. You’re destroying people’s homes and forcing them out just because you don’t like the way they look or the amount of money they don’t have!” Blake thrust an accusatory finger towards her.

“That’s not true!” Weiss shot back, “We just want to clean things up! The faunus are free to move back when the construction is done, but it’s not healthy to have the slums there as they are. They’re rat infested and run down, they-”

“They’re people’s homes!” Blake interrupted forcefully, “And they’re not free to go back. Tell me, have you ever actually been to the so called slums after you’re done gentrifying them? They replace apartment buildings with expensive houses and shops and kick the former faunus tenants to the street. Except that vagrancy is illegal, so they get taken to prison if they sleep on the streets. It’s illegal to not have money or homes in this city and that’s your fault!”

“That’s absurd! We’re not… We don’t do those things you’re accusing us of!” But Weiss wasn’t so confident now. She had to regain the upper hand; she tried another tactic, “The faunus here in the castle have never been anything but-”

Blake interrupted her again,” Your slaves, you mean?”

“Servants!” Weiss bristled. “They’re well compensated for their work!”

“With what? Room and board? Do you actually know what they’re paid? Not enough to put away in savings! Certainly not enough to escape this place! They’re totally reliant on this job in order to live, of course you’re not going to see them complaining about the abuse that you and your father and the other nobles put them through.”

“We do not abuse them! How dare you!” Weiss stomped her feet, knowing, even as she did it, that it made her look like a spoiled brat. It was an old habit, a bad one, that popped up whenever she got flustered.

“Have you even asked them? I bet you haven’t, because you don’t actually care about them. They’re just tools to you, tools to do the demeaning jobs that no one wants, tools to wait on you hand and foot. Can you even do anything by yourself? Have you ever cooked or cleaned? Do they even wash you, too?” Blake took a step forward and leaned in closer to Weiss’s face, “If I were to take you and leave you in the woods by yourself, would you even be able to survive?”

“Blake, that’s enough.” Yang stepped in, finally, putting her hand on Blake’s shoulder and trying to pull her back.

“Yes, Blake,” A smooth, nearly sinister voice spoke up from behind Weiss, making everyone jump and tense. “That’s quite enough.” The King himself rounded the corner faux casually, so much menace in his steps that Weiss could hear it with every soft footfall. “I believe you’ve schooled my daughter on her errant ways quite well. Don’t you agree, Weiss?”

Weiss struggled to keep her composure, back ramrod straight. She wasn’t sure what he wanted her to say, he was obviously being sarcastic. She decided to keep quiet for now.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when his hand fell heavily on her shoulder, grip like iron, “I asked you a question, Weiss. Did this girl school you? Teach you anything? I think she taught you something.” Weiss winced as he squeezed, painfully hard, nodding and making noises of agreement, but his grip didn’t loosen, “She certainly taught me something. Would you like to know what you taught me, Blake?” he said her name with such vitriol that the girl flinched.

Blake apparently wasn’t sure whether or not to say anything either, because she stayed silent, “Everyone is being so rude today, Weiss, they can’t even respond to simple questions.” His hand closed even tighter and Weiss felt her bones groan in protest. She had to turn her head away from Yang and Blake in order to blink back tears from the pain and humiliation she felt. 

This was such an obvious power move, her father rarely hurt her like this in front of others, not even the help. For Father to so blatantly inflict pain on her and make Yang and Blake watch, it was a clear message to them. No one is safe, not even his blood, so don’t make an enemy out of him.

When it became clear that Blake was going to hold her tongue, Father continued, “I had no idea the faunus were so unhappy in my service. I mean, we clothe them, feed them, give them a roof over their heads and educate their children. We even give them spending money at the end of the week to buy whatever necessities we don’t already provide. If you think they’re secretly harboring resentment, then perhaps I should just fire them all.” Weiss could see Blake’s eyes widen in fear.

“No? So, you don’t think that maybe I should hire all humans instead?” Blake swallowed hard, but didn’t speak and Weiss felt him clench her shoulder sharply, struggling not to cry out. She sucked a breath in through her nose and nearly missed his menacing, “Well?”

“No.” She practically whimpered and Weiss almost felt bad for her. She really had no idea who she was dealing with.

“See there, was that so hard?” Father said, almost cheerfully, but the painful grip didn’t lessen and Weiss felt it being used to forcefully turn her body around, “Now, come Weiss, I think perhaps you need a Lesson on how to handle noisy faunus like that one.”

“A Lesson?” Weiss couldn’t help how she breathed out the word fearfully. Father thought that pain was the best teacher and so he had begun having Lessons with her just after her sister left. They would go to the sparring room and while he taught her to defend herself from attack, he would recite information and then ask her questions about what he had said. If she got something wrong, she would have to lower her guard and let him strike her. If she got it right and her guard was weak, he would hit her anyway. She always left bruised and sore; luckily, she was a master at glamor and healing spells. 

Weiss reached up to touch her scar compulsively, she hadn’t always been.

“Yes, a Lesson. It’s obviously been far too long since you had one.” He was right, it had been four months since her last one. Four wonderful, pain free months.

“Wait!” Both Weiss and the King turned in surprise at Yang’s voice. Weiss had been so engrossed in Blake’s responses and the pain in her shoulder that she hadn’t even looked at Yang once during the whole ordeal. Now she stood, hand outstretched desperately, Blake having taken a fearful half step behind her. “We, Weiss and I, still need to go over stuff for the wedding.” She stuttered out.

An obvious lie, Weiss could see right through it easily and she knew Father would be able to as well. What was the point of this ruse? Was she trying to save her? How naive, Yang would be lucky if this attempt didn’t incur Father’s wrath all on her instead. Still, Weiss almost felt grateful, before she cynically crushed that thought. Surely Yang just felt guilty and wanted to try for her own conscience. Then she could go to bed feeling like she did all she could have and sleep easy.

Father barely spared her another second before giving Weiss a push and continuing on his way, “It can wait.” Weiss knew better than to look back. Besides, she needed to steel herself for what was to come.

________________

 

It was two in the morning by the time Father let her go, bruised, beaten, barely standing, and furious. He knew about the guests in the castle and he spent all that time telling Weiss how Blake was an ex terrorist and the deeds she’d done in the name of faunus rights. How he’d only let her in because she was part of the personal entourage of the savage King.

Weiss couldn't believe she'd let such scum talk down to her like that. She should have done something to make her stop. Even if Weiss thought she might have had a point. After all, she knew the terrible secret of the magic that protected their city. Maybe she was one of the only ones. She'd have to do some more investigating, once morning came and she was more rested, that is.

Weiss turned the corner and stopped dead at the sight ahead. There, sitting in front of her door, was Yang, the barbarian curled up in what must have been an uncomfortable position. There was a bouquet of flowers in her lap, all white and blue, like Schnee colors. Yang must have swiped them from the garden.

All at once, Weiss had to stomp down a surge of affection. This girl, this savage, had brought a faunus terrorist into her home. Surely she must have known the implications of this, and even if she didn't, she let Blake talk down to her. She did nothing to stop what happened.

Clenching her teeth and holding herself straight backed and rigid, Weiss marched over to Yang and gave her a light kick in the thigh. “Get up, you're in front of my door.” 

Yang jerked awake, rolling up to her feet with a little spring, “Weiss! I, uh, here!” Weiss found the flowers thrust against her chest, “These are for you. I'm, whoa, are you alright?”

Weiss swallowed hard and then slapped the flowers away. “I don't need your gifts. Especially not ones that came from my own garden.” As she expected, Yang looked chagrined.

“Weiss, maybe I can help you get-” Yang reached out towards her and, again, Weiss smacked it down.

“I don't need your help! If you really wanted to help, you wouldn't have let your pet terrorist have a go at me in the first place.” Weiss glared and felt a small measure of satisfaction when the much taller Yang took a half step back.

“Blake is not, no, listen I just-”

“Just what?! You didn’t even try to stop her. Why? Because you thought that I needed a Lesson, too.” Weiss spat bitterly, reveling in the shock and hurt on Yang’s face. “You’re naive if you think that a paltry gift would make things alright between us after that. Now, get out of my sight, I need to get cleaned up.” Unwilling to hear anymore from Yang tonight, Weiss marched through her door and slammed it shut behind her, studiously not looking in Yang’s direction once.


	6. A World of Adults

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes beings an adult means doings things that you don't want to.

Her routine was the same as always, but this time, when Cherry came in to wake her up, Weiss was already sitting up in bed, staring out the window. She had to be up before anyone else saw her in order to put on the glamors that hid the bruising, not a terribly unusual sight. Cherry, however, joined Weiss’s retinue after the last time Weiss had had a Lesson, so this was a strange new change. Weiss noted her confusion when the girl entered, also noticing that she didn’t comment on it.

The room was silent as Cherry opened the curtain, then turned to hand Weiss her morning coffee. Weiss paused, studying the faunus, noticing her ears droop in further confusion, “...Thank you, Cherry, good morning.”

“Good morning, your highness.” Cherry responded and Weiss realized she’d been waiting on Weiss to speak first. How obedient, Weiss thought, but with a sort of sadness instead of affection. She really was shallow, she had no idea about what her servants went through. Her emotions must have shown on her face, because Cherry hesitantly continued, “Are you feeling okay today?”

Weiss was going to answer that, yes, she was, and try to to get back on track, but something stopped her. It wasn’t just Blake’s words, but it was all the other things she’d been through in the lately. Her world had been turned upside down; Weiss had always thought she was a good person and now she wasn’t so sure. She needed to make a change, she needed to ask the questions that she didn’t want to hear answered. So, instead of trying to continue with the status quo, Weiss instead took a deep breath, “No, I’m not. I’ve made some discoveries recently that have forced me reevaluate things.” She let out her breath in an aggravated sigh, “I feel… Stupid, naive, like these things should have been obvious and they weren’t to me. Maybe because I didn’t want to see them.”

When Weiss looked up, she saw that Cherry was looking very concerned, face open and honest. It made Weiss feel good and, all at once, she knew what she had to do. “Cherry, how much do you know about what goes on in the city? With the faunus and how they’re treated?”

“Uh,” Cherry was obviously taken aback, “Quite a bit, why?”

“I need you to answer my questions. Please. I need to know what really goes on in the city, not the version my father tells me.” Weiss used to think she was above begging, but here, now, she let herself. This was important, too important to let her pride get in the way.

Cherry must have realized how much this meant to Weiss, because she nodded slowly, “Yes, I’ll tell you everything, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

“I know I won’t, but I need to hear it anyway.”

__________________

 

It was hours later that found herself seated in her spacious bathroom, alone for the first time in her life. After her talk with Cherry and Blake’s comments last night, Weiss had decided that she would no longer have her servants bathe her. Now that she was here, though, she suddenly struggled to remember the routine she’d adhered to for so many years.

Was it pluck first, then oil, then hair? No, maybe it was hair, then pluck, then oil? No, she definitely plucked first, because that was done before washing. Heaving a sigh, Weiss grabbed the tweezers and decided to just start with step one. 

She wanted to be able to think about what had happened this morning and last night, but Weiss found herself only able to concentrate on bathing. Who would have thought that plucking all her unwanted hair would be an actual chore? She twisted this way and that, hardly able to reach or see all the spots she needed to get too. And it hurt! She kept missing and pinching herself or having to tug multiple times on ones she couldn’t get in one motion.

By the time she was finished, the bathwater had cooled a little more than she normally liked, but she was certain that the hard part was over. At least, until she dripped shampoo into her eye and it burned like nothing else. Then, when it was time to wash her body, she had trouble reaching to scrape her scented oils off her back.

Weiss used to relax in the bath, but now, she was more exhausted and tense than before. She made sure to triple check herself for oils and suds before getting out of the tub and opening the drain. At least she had no problem tossing the water out without help.

A little frustrated but more humbled, Weiss came back to her bedroom to brush out her hair and dress. Pulling the brush through her long locks was soothing and mindless, helping her to calm and allowing her to think over the matters on her mind.

Blake had been right, about everything. She’d spent hours with Cherry just talking things over and confirming everything with her, from her own perspective. Weiss didn’t tell her what, had brought on this change, but she got the feeling that Cherry was just happy being able to speak openly about her experiences.

The whole exchange had got Weiss thinking about what she could do to start making a difference in the lives of her people. Cherry had been supportive of her ideas to go into town and start talking to people, but Weiss still had a fear response to the thought of being out in the city proper.

Instead, she’d decided to start small; the refugee camp they’d set up outside the Eastern Gate might be in need of something more than what they’d been given. She would go there this afternoon and talk to them. With a small guard, of course, she wasn’t crazy.

Until then, she needed to drop by the Academy and speak with Professor Goodwitch about the suspicions they’d had about another school authority being in on this scheme. There was really no telling how big this attack was or how long it had been in the works. Maybe Weiss could even get a little more information out of Goodwitch if she asked the right questions.

Her plans decided, Weiss stood and went to her wardrobe to choose her outfit for today. She still had a little time before breakfast and she would be expected to make an appearance. Besides, she was hungry and it was the most important meal of the day, she would steel herself and studiously ignore the three people she most assuredly did not want to see.

Twenty minutes later, after choosing her most simple gown and putting her hair up in a side ponytail, deciding to forgo her usual complicated braid, Weiss deemed herself ready to face the world. She stopped to admire herself in the mirror on her way out of her bedroom and frowned; without her braid and the normal beads and chains that decorated it, she looked rather plain. 

She went to her jewelry box and rifled through it for a few moments, finally coming up with a hair clip in the shape of a tiara. Winter had given it to her last year for her birthday and she had rarely gotten a chance to wear it. Now seemed like the perfect time and she carefully clipped it into the base of her sidetail. 

Coming back to the mirror, Weiss beamed at herself; she looked good. She still looked regal, but not so ostentatious. Winter had always hated being dressed up like a peacock, it was really no surprise that military life suited her. Unbidden, the thought hit her, would Winter be proud of the woman she was becoming? Would she be proud of the woman in the mirror?

Winter had been deployed at the Northern border for two years now and she never came to visit Weiss, even during her leaves. Winter had the excuse that she was always to be on call because she was in charge of the Mage Corp on the wall, but Weiss often wondered if what she truly wanted was just to not be home.

Weiss sighed harshly, she really didn’t need tears before her day even began. Winter wrote to her once a month, it seemed she always had a lot to talk about and always asked after her. They were family; it was just hard for Winter to be affectionate, she knew that. She knew that and tried not to think about how close Ruby and Yang were.

It was time to go to breakfast.

Leaving her rooms with determination in her steps, Weiss schooled her features before she even hit the stairs. She was cordial to the staff, greeting them with either words or a smile and ignoring the strange looks she received in return. She usually never did this, they must think she was either in a good mood or losing her mind. Stil, there were some that looked pleased and returned her greetings cheerfully. It made Weiss happy, it made her feel like she was doing the right thing.

They were not her slaves, they were her employees and they were people. She made a mental note to inquire about their wages and see what could be done to increase them. If she could even convince Father to do so. Maybe she could even see about getting a wage law passed? No, maybe that was too ambitious, knowing the men on the council.

Weiss finally made her way to the dining hall, glad to see that breakfast hadn’t quite started yet, and took her normal seat next to Yang. She smiled at Ruby and Pyrrha, greeting them, but studiously ignored her betrothed and the Faunus. “Ruby, what are your plans for the day?” She asked, feeling Yang slump next to her.

Surprisingly, it didn’t make her feel any better. She was still mad, at Yang, yes, but more so at Blake and her father. The barbarian hadn’t really done anything too egregious and even tried to apologize and see Weiss after it all. She resolved to let Yang stew throughout the morning and talk to her again during lunch.

After a brief pause, Ruby answered, “Oh, I dunno, maybe go back to the Academy and check out the Library again? I finally finished all those books, so I need to return them. Get some more, too.”

Weiss was impressed that Ruby’s voice managed to stay so steady, especially since her eyes were darting between Yang and herself with fervent concern. Evidently, Yang had told Ruby at least some of what had happened last night and now the younger girl was well aware of the tension between them.

Weiss was content to ignore the problem for a while longer, “Ah, excellent, I also have to head to the Academy today, do you mind some company on the walk over?”

“Um, no, nope, feel free to come with. It’ll just be me and Pyrrha. She said she wanted to see the Academy, too.” Weiss glanced at the mentioned red head and Pyrrha nodded at her with a hesitant smile. Weiss didn’t think she had actually heard her speak and absently wondered if she could. 

Then again, Ruby did seem the type to talk a lot, perhaps she was simply used to letting the excitable girl take the lead in conversation. Weiss decided that she would hear Pyrrha’s story today, if that could be helped, if only to prove the woman had a voice.

“Great, I’ll be leaving after breakfast, if you don’t mind going so soon?” Weiss waited until Ruby answered that she did not mind, before continuing, “Good. Did you manage to learn anything from those books?”

“Yeah!” Now Ruby didn’t have to pretend she was excited, her face nearly split from her large grin, “The books all talked about the fundamentals of magic and stuff. How mages and sorcerers accessed it all differently and how it manifested different and all that good stuff. It even suggested some breathing exercises to help with control, but I still haven’t really gotten that down yet.”

“I’d be happy to help you, I probably am overdue for some meditation myself.” It was a skill she’d mastered as a child, but she’d grown too busy in the last years of her schooling to use it much. Maybe now was a good time to pick it up again.

“Awww, you don’t have to do all that.” Ruby said politely, trying to sound nonchalant. To Weiss, it was obvious that she was downplaying her failure at the task.

Deciding to have a little fun, Weiss hummed thoughtfully, “I’m sure that you’ll pick it up without help eventually. After all, you very much seem like the kind of person that can easily sit for hours on end and just clear her mind of all thoughts and distractions. You’re right, surely all you need to get the hang of it is a totally silent room all by yourself with no distractions.”

Ruby pouted, “Okay, point taken, I could really use your help.” Weiss smiled, catching Pyrrha covering her mouth to hide her own amusement.

“Let’s meet up tonight before bed, perhaps a couple hours after dinner. I’d be happy to instruct you.” Weiss couldn’t quite keep the smugness out of her smile, but Ruby didn’t seem to mind, smiling at her gratefully. They lapsed into silence for a few moments in order to finish their meals, then they rose to head to the Academy.

The walk from the dining hall to the Academy grounds was filled with mostly small talk, the most serious of which was them both expressing worry of the current state of affairs. Then a thought struck Weiss.

“I was curious about something.” She started, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. When Ruby gave her a curious look, she continued, “Your… Grooming rituals.”

“Our grooming rituals?” Ruby and Pyrrha exchange a surprised glance. “What do you mean?”

“Ah, well.” Weiss took a breath and decided to just plow through. “I mean hair care, soaps, oils. How do you keep your legs smooth?” There had to be an easier way than plucking and Weiss had noticed that Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha all had hairless legs. If she was going to be using her servants less, she should learn other, hopefully easier, ways to do things.

Ruby laughed a little, “Oh, we burn all the hair off.” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Burn?” Weiss asked in dismay. Why was it that everything the barbarians did had to be so extreme?

“Yeah, burn. It’s fast, simple and only having hair on your head makes it much easier to keep clean. That’s why most every Valean does it. You won’t even see many men with beards and most women keep their hair short.”

Come to think of it, Weiss hadn’t realized it until now that most of the barbarians she’d seen were well kempt and smooth. She had thought that maybe the royal family was just held to different standards, but was it really the whole culture?

“Keeping clean is very important.” Ruby continued, “We learned long ago that being clean keeps sickness at bay. So we have different soap for our hair and body; we don’t have scented oils like you do, but our soaps are made with flowers and plants that smell good and grow wild in our home.”

Weiss hummed, thinking hard about her own city. They occasionally got news of sicknesses ravaging the slums and tales about how garbage and other things piled in the streets. Oils and soaps were expensive, perhaps if they weren’t and if there were better street cleaners in the slums they could avoid illnesses like that.

Weiss made a mental note to look into that as well, once this whole trouble was over.

“You’ll have to show me these soaps.” Weiss finally said after a brief moment of contemplation, “I’m very interested in different beautification habits.”

“You don’t wear a lot of makeup.” Ruby blurted out, “I’ve seen Atlesian women who paint their faces like jesters they wear so much makeup. I thought that’s what all nobles did, but you’re actually really pretty.”

Weiss giggled a bit at the speedy way Ruby spoke, obviously nervous about her observations, “I wear a little bit around my eyes.” She confessed, “My family was blessed with great complexions, so I rarely use concealer or blush. The real secret, however…” She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Magic.”

Ruby made a sound like this was the most important revelation she’d ever heard. “How do you mean?” She asked, voice a reverent whisper.

“Simple glamor charms. Too many and too big and, like makeup, it will begin to damage your skin. Just a few little ones and you can easily cover up pimples or other blemishes.” Like bruises and split lips, she knew from experience. “They are just cosmetic, so if anyone touches you, they’ll feel what the magic hides, but it’s very useful.”

Ruby fell silent for a few steps, then said, “Do you ever glamor you scar?” Weiss looked at her in surprise; no one had ever asked her about it in such a straightforward way before. Usually her scar was seen as a big, ugly deal. No real noble trained so hard that they risked their pretty face or got calluses on their hands. Even the nobles with magic were paraded out just for party tricks.

Ruby asked innocently, without judgement, full of curiosity. “I used to.” Weiss answered back honestly, “Because I hated it. It’s just that it takes so much energy to hold a glamor all day, every day, that eventually I dropped it. That was many years ago, now, so it doesn’t bother me the way it used to.”

“Well I think it looks badass.” Ruby gave her a big grin and Weiss couldn’t help smiling back. What a genuine girl, Weiss found herself feeling a little more relaxed under her open and trusting gaze. 

“No one has ever told me that before.” Weiss admitted after a moment, “Thank you, that makes me feel a little better, actually.”

Ruby’s face turned red and she waved her hands wildly in front of her, as if trying to brush off Weiss’s words, “Pshaw, it’s really not a big deal. I mean, you probably get compliments all the time.”

“None that are genuine. People just want to be on my good side because I’m the Princess, I’ve found it refreshing to be around people that don’t treat me like they have to kiss my feet when I pass.” 

They fell into an amicable silence for a few minutes, coming ever closer to the Academy doors. Before they could get any closer to the people coming and going around that area, a hand on her shoulder stopped Weiss. She turned in surprise to see Ruby’s concerned face, brows pinched together.

“You’ve been in a good mood this morning, but Yang said she was worried about you.” Weiss tensed and knew Ruby felt it because she jerked her hand back and tucked it within her red cloak. “She said you and Blake fought! She didn’t tell me any details, though, just that she was worried.”

Weiss regarded Ruby with a neutral expression, “We did fight.” She confirmed, then allowed her features to soften a bit, “It was a necessary evil, I’ve spent the morning in contemplation over that and many other things and I’ve decided to make some changes to my life. However, I’m going to let your sister suffer a little longer before I let her know I’m not mad with her.”

Ruby sagged so hard in relief that Pyrrha took a half step towards her in case she needed to catch her. “I’m glad. I really don’t like when there’s tension like that.”

Weiss giggled at her, hiding her grin behind her hand; how dramatic. “I’m not sure I’m quite ready to be best friends with Blake, yet, though.” She said when she calmed, “She’s been rude to me since she came here.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about her. Blake’s actually a really good person! She’s just a little…” Ruby paused, searching for the right words while Weiss filled in some uncharitable ones of her own in her head, “Intense. Especially about certain subjects. We told her she didn’t need to come to Atlas, since she’s got bad memories here, but she insisted she do her duty to protect Yang.”

“I promise that I will make an effort if she will, but,” She said firmly, “If she continues to be snobby with me, I won’t hold back.”

Ruby gave her a bright smile, very reminiscent of her older sister, “That’s fair, I’m glad you’re going to give her a chance.”

Weiss returned it with a much more subdued smile, “I must speak with Professor Goodwitch, how about we meet in the library in a little while?” Watching Ruby grab her much taller guard by the hand and drag her into the Academy with a cheerful wave over her shoulder made Weiss feel like her nothing would harm her good mood. With a little skip to her step, Weiss entered the Academy behind them.

 

________________________

 

Weiss felt her stomach drop at Goodwitch’s glare, “Your Highness, I will make this perfectly clear; stop investigating this.”

“I don’t understand.” Weiss insisted, stomping her foot in frustration, “Why won’t you listen to me? I’m perfectly capable as a mage and a ruler to lend my power to helping fight against this enemy.”

“You have no idea the forces you are dealing with here. Do not get involved again.” Goodwitch said as though it was to be the last word.

Weiss wasn’t satisfied with that, though, and stood her ground, “Of course I don’t know anything, because you keep shutting me out like I’m powerless and have nothing to lose! This is my city and my people! I’m a resource that you can use in a battle against a powerful and well connected foe. So let me help!”

“Your city? Your people?” Goodwitch said in that infuriatingly calm tone, while still maintaining her glare, “You never cared for them before, don’t start now. Besides, you’re just a child, you cannot possibly have more power or influence than the Headmaster or the General or your father the King. Don’t be so keen to grow up quickly. Stop investigating this and get out of my office.”

Weiss didn’t want to admit how much those words hurt, so she stomped out of Goodwitch’s office and made sure to slam the door extra hard on her way out. Her heels clacked angrily down the hallway until she could, chest aching and eyes stinging, duck into an alcove and catch her breath. Goodwitch had never pulled any punches with her, which Weiss had always appreciated, but that was taking things too far.

Perhaps it was childish to think it would be so easy to change things in one day. Maybe the public would always think that she never cared about them. Her whole endeavor might be doomed to fail before she even started. 

No, she couldn’t think about that. She had to move forward, no matter how hard it was going to be. This change was for the better and if she continued to investigate behind the adults’ backs? Well, they should have cut her in when she asked.

Mind made up, good mood ruined, but still determined to make a difference, Weiss exited her little cove, face more somber than it had been upon entering the Academy. She’d start by helping Ruby study, then maybe see if the girl was interested in going to the refugee camp with her later.

_________________

 

As it turned out, Ruby was more than interested in going with her and her excitement nearly got them ejected from the library. After that near miss, they spent the rest of the morning going over more basic magic books and looking for exercises that Ruby could do to bring forth her power.

Armed with a small stack of books, the three headed back to the palace for lunch and Weiss prepared herself to speak to Yang. She’d decided, after agonizing for a while about potential apologies, that she would try to make as little deal as possible about talking to Yang again. Perhaps she’d been a little hasty with her attitude, but the important part would be that they were on speaking terms again.

She was more than a little disappointed when Yang, nor Blake, showed up for lunch. Disappointed and inconvenienced; now she would have to seek Yang out later, which meant she’d be showing effort and that would, consequently, show that she actually cared. Her whole plan to be aloof and casual was out the window.

Deciding not to dwell on her betrothed, Weiss gathered two guardsmen and her riding cloak and headed to the stables to meet Ruby and Pyrrha. Together, they would ride to the Eastern Gate and out into the camp. Weiss wasn’t sure what to expect, so she was filled with equal parts anxiety and excitement; would they be happy to see her or would they hate her? Should she be fearful? What of the state of the camp? This was also the first time in many years she’d been outside the fortified walls that surrounded the Palace and the Academy.

Ruby was thrilled, during the ride they attracted much attention and she was determined to wave to everyone that gathered to watch them pass. Weiss was relieved when the people waved at the girl in return and was surprised to see that some even called out to her. It was heartening not to see a threat standing on every corner and Weiss felt her spirits rise. By the time they made it to the Eastern Gate, she was smiling and chatting with Ruby amicably.

Unfortunately, her mood was dashed as soon as they rode outside the walls and saw the camp set up on either side of the road. It was like every bad imagining she’d had of the city slums; dirty faces peered bleakly at her from hungry people, children cried, people coughed and wailed. The smell was terrible before they even made it very far into one side of the tent city, but Weiss pushed onward regardless.

“Your Highness.” One of her guards said quietly, “We shouldn’t be here.”

Weiss shook her head; she’d also been feeling like they’d just walked into a place where they should not be, but she’d made up her mind. If there was anything she could do to help these people, her people, then she would do so.

It took a little bit longer, but eventually, the tents opened up into a makeshift town square. There was trading going on, but not for money. Weiss saw people trading buckets of water for fresh meat, threadbare blankets for clean rags. Even medicines were being advertised for bread or produce. 

Everyone quieted down as the small group entered into the clearing and Weiss dismounted her horse, much to her guards’ dismay. For a long moment, she wasn’t sure what to say, collecting her thoughts while waiting for Ruby, Pyrrha, and her guards to follow her lead and get off their horses. Then, timidly, a young woman with a toddler on her hip approached her, giving a shaky curtsy.

“Your Highness.” She greeted, voice barely above a whisper, “Are you…. Are you to hear our grievances?”

All at once, Weiss knew what she had to do. “Yes. Spread the word, I’ll be here until dark and I’ll listen to everything you have to say.” The woman looked overwhelmed, eyes growing wet, but she nodded and, one by one, with help from her guards, people began forming a line in order to speak to her.

 

______________

 

Weiss sat at her desk, flipping through pages of inventory reports, emergency budget plans, and her own notes on the subject, trying to gather the resources she’d need to care for the people in the refugee camp outside the city.

Today had been a sobering experience, she’d spent hours listening to the same story of loss and neglect, hunger and sickness. When she’d come back to the palace, she’d gone straight to her room and began working on solutions, letting Cherry know she’d take dinner here.

She couldn’t believe how little help these people had, they’d essentially been given tents and told to stay out of the city. It seems that the order to stay out came from the City Watch Captain, rather than her father, which was good, because it meant that Weiss could override it. Food and water had been a huge request, so had blankets and medicine. Weiss had meetings tomorrow morning with the head of the Hunter’s Guild, one of the main doctors from their local hospital, a city planner, and the military Quartermaster in order to try and rectify these needs.

With a sigh, Weiss leaned back in her chair; this wasn’t looking to be a cheap endeavor, but the emergency budget had plenty of funds set aside to take care of such things. She was most disappointed that the money wasn’t being used in the way it had been intended. Going over the records revealed some disturbing evidence of embezzlement and Father wasn’t going to be happy when she had one of his favored advisors arrested.

She had an appointment after lunch time with a lawyer to discuss how to go over his head with the charges she was planning on levying. If she got enough public support with the idea of punishing someone for the abysmal conditions of the camp, she thought that her father would be less likely to free the man. 

Especially after Weiss could arrange to seize his estate and give control of it to the crown. He didn’t have any family, so she wasn’t throwing anyone out on the street. Except maybe his servants, if Father wasn’t happy with her peace offering.

A firm knock at her door broke Weiss from her thoughts; she stood with a sigh, stretching out her sore muscles. How long had she been at this? It felt like only minutes had passed since she’d sent Cherry out with messages to the people she needed to speak with. She glanced at the candle on her mantle and found just a couple inches left near the bottom.

No wonder she was so stiff, it had been hours since she’d locked herself away. The knock sounded at her door again, “I’m coming!” She called, quickly tidying up her desk and straightening out her clothes and hair. Once she was presentable again, Weiss made her way through her chambers and pulled the door open.

Behind it was Yang and Blake, the Faunus practically hiding behind her charge. “Oh. It’s you two. What do you want?” Weiss nearly winced, that had come out much harsher than she’d intended.

Yang seemed to think so as well because she visibly shrunk; Blake’s eyes dropped to the floor guiltily, “We, ah, we wanted to talk.”

For a moment, Weiss felt the need to drag this out, “And if I didn’t want to talk?” She asked childishly. Her reluctance immediately dissipated when Yang’s face fell miserably.

“Please. We won’t take up much of your time.” It was strange to see the barbarian speaking in such a low, soft tone. Weiss decided she didn’t like timid Yang.

Weiss stepped aside to let them in. “Sit there.” She offered, gesturing to the chairs in her sitting room, then she grabbed a water pitcher and three glasses from her crystal cabinet in the corner. 

It took a moment for them to all get settled, but once they were, silence fell over them. Then Yang reached out and poked Blake in the ribs. “I…” The faunus clasped her hands firmly in her lap. “I wanted to explain some things.” She began haltingly.

Weiss tried to keep her patience, but she was really quite curious, “Like what?” She asked after the silence stretched a moment too long.

Blake took a deep breath, “My parents helped found The White Fang thirty years ago. Even though they were very young at the time, they were directly responsible for the independence of Menagerie.” She revealed, talking about the haven island for the faunus. ”There were reports soon after that there was a desperate need for them in Atlas, so they packed up and opened the Atlas branch as soon as they arrived here.”

“They started the same kind of actions that they used to free Menagerie, except this time, things didn’t go as planned. The hostility they received from the nobles and government was much worse than they expected. They had trained animals attacking them during peaceful protests, counter protesters with weapons to clear them forcefully, and a corrupt guard that turned the other way or joined in on the abuse. I was born into a war zone, grew up with picket signs in my hands and protest chanting as my lullabies.”

Blake paused and swallowed and Yang was quick to get up to get her a glass of water. After taking a sip, Blake thanked her quietly, continuing with a little more energy behind her words, “For a while, everything was fine, and then, one of our numbers attempted to feed you a poisoned pastry. We condemned him of course, his actions were unforgivable, but… They were understandable.”

“You see, the man had a granddaughter, about my age, who had been brutalized and murdered by the son of a rich nobleman. And just days before, the son had gotten a full pardon from the King for his crimes. The cited reason? His father was sick and the house needed an heir available if he died suddenly. How fortunate,” Blake stressed the word, “That the man still lives today.”

Weiss vaguely remembered this, there had been lots of angry protesters in town the week before the attempt. “Things got violent after that. I thought that it was just a progression of tactics.”

“In a way, it was.” Blake said, rubbing her temples, “That act divided us. I was ten and just being allowed to sit in on meetings, but I remember the yelling that went on. Everyone agreed that we needed to make a statement that what happened was not okay, but killing, especially a child, to do that? That’s where we were divided.”

“My parents were firmly in the peaceful protest and legislation corner. Change the laws and government and you change things in the long run. My mentor and brother in arms Adam was sixteen and full of fury. He thought we should get revenge. I remembered that girl, she came to our rallies.” Blake looked so sad for just a moment and Weiss felt her heart ache just a bit, “She had a nice smile and she called me Bella once.”

Her face hardened a bit, “I was ten and she was my friend and I sided with him. I was small, fast, and blended into the shadows. I was a damn good lockpick. I helped them break into that nobleman’s home and take the son from the house while they all slept. I wasn’t there when they tortured and killed him, but I saw his body strung up when they were done and it was disgusting, but…. I felt like we gave that girl justice. Justice that the humans denied us.”

Blake shook her head. “After that it was all downhill. It was addicting and exciting, punishing the wicked by breaking their things, burning their homes, attacking them as they attacked us. I was never involved in deaths after that first time, but no one had been so bad that I was moved to help again. Some I thought took it too far, but Adam was always there to reassure me. Especially after my parents went back to Menagerie.”

“Things started to change, though. I grew up and learned that it wasn’t always black and white. I learned that people lied a lot to get what they wanted, even other faunus. I learned that my mentor was maybe not okay.” Blake dipped her head, voice going low, “I learned that he developed feelings for me, even though I was six years younger.”

She had to pause a moment, Yang reaching out to grab her hand in comfort; even Weiss found herself shifting forward in support. After another sip of water, Blake continued, “He used that to control me for a while, but his charm was quickly wearing off. I knew I had to leave. The opportunity came with the plan to steal a huge shipment of Dust.”

“Adam wanted to kill the crew, I disagreed. I cut the extra wagons free and took off in the head cart, the unconscious crew piled in with me. Once they were far enough away, I stole a horse and rode west as hard and fast as I could. I rode until my horse died and then I ran. When I couldn’t run, I walked. When I couldn’t walk, I crawled. I don’t remember getting to the Vale border, but I did. Eventually, Yang and her family took me in and gave me a new reason to live.” 

It didn’t seem like Blake was going to elaborate more on the story after that, because she fell silent. Just as the quiet threatened to drag on uncomfortably, though, Blake began quietly, “You’re not your father or your family. I was angry when I came here because I thought you didn’t care. I thought you were just another corrupt noble. I didn’t know that you were just as much his victim as I was, as any faunus was.” Weiss flinched at the word ‘victim’; she didn’t like when other people said that about her. “I’m sorry that I thought that and I’m sorry if I got you hurt.”

Weiss thought carefully for a minute, then finally said, “I’ve been learning a lot, lately, and it made me realize that I don’t… I don’t think I’m a good person. I’ve decided from now on that I want to change that.” Weiss admitted quietly, unable to meet their eyes. “I’ve lived half my life on these grounds and I don’t know if it’s because I was too scared to go into the city or if I thought I was too good.”

Clenching her hands in her lap, Weiss continued, “What has been happening to the faunus here, it’s information that’s easy to confirm with my own eyes. Did I not know because I was stupid or because I just didn’t want to know? Did I ignore everything bad to save myself the trouble of having to do anything about it? Everything you’ve told me I could have learned by talking to my people, by caring for them; things I didn’t do. Even the other things I’ve learned, especially about the founding of the city…” Weiss trailed off, she still needed to think about that one.

Weiss shook her head, finally looking up again, “Thank you for telling me all this. I needed to hear it.” She stood to escort them out of her room, gesturing for them go ahead of her. “When I’m ready to talk, I’ll find you.” She promised gently, holding the door open. Once they were gone, Weiss leaned back against the door with a sigh; it was going to be a long night.

 

_________________


	7. And Hell Followed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death, sacrifice, and murder, all these things are quickly becoming a fact of life for Weiss. It's never easy, but new challenges arise when the city is on the brink of war.

Weiss, as predicted, didn’t sleep well that night; Blake’s story, the things she’d seen in that camp, and Glynda’s words all haunted her thoughts. She decided that after the fourth time a nightmare woke her, she would get materials together and scry for answers that afternoon before going to see the Guard Captain. She was not helpless, she was not a child, and she would help her people.

She was up and moving around before Cherry even brought her coffee, waiting at her vanity and brushing out her long hair. Her attendant looked concerned, but she assured the girl that she was simply eager to start her day. A knock at her door surprised them both; Weiss certainly wasn’t expecting visitors so early in the day.

The surprise increased when Cherry escorted Yang into her bedroom, “What are you doing here?”

The barbarian tried to look nonchalant when she smiled; it wasn’t a terribly convincing attempt and Weiss saw right through her, “Oh, I was just wondering if I could hang around today.”

“I’m going to be in meetings all morning.” Weiss said, keeping her tone carefully neutral while she tried to figure out Yang’s angle.

“Oh.” For a moment, her smile faded, then returned to full intensity, “Well, what about after that?”

Weiss gave a little huff through her nose, dismissing Cherry with a few quiet words. She pulled her hair into her side ponytail while she waited her hear her chamber door close. “You still feel guilty.” She accused, watching Yang’s face fall into shame.

“I mean, yes. How can I not? I misjudged you a lot and I feel like it’s partially my fault you got hurt.” Yang confessed quietly, unable to meet Weiss’s eyes.

“Then why did you let it happen?” It wasn’t that Weiss was still blaming Yang, she might still be blaming Blake a bit, even though both girls had tried to make it up to her, but if Yang wanted to continue to self flagellate, then she would see where this was going.

“Because…. Blake had a lot to get off her chest and I knew that it had been building since we found out we’d be coming here. I just thought that if she,” Yang made a vague hand gesture that had Weiss raising her eyebrows, “Let it out, maybe it would help.”

“And you thought I deserved it.” Weiss said flatly, watching Yang cringe.

“I didn’t understand.” She defended weakly.

“Of course not, you have a decently functioning family.” Weiss sighed, finally looking away. The sun was turning the sky a lovely red color and she allowed her eyes to trail over the clouds lazily, “To be honest, I probably did deserve it. Before last week, I wouldn’t have cared about the plight of the faunus. I didn’t give a second thought to the people in the refugee camp. My world consisted of trying to survive political machinations and trading barbs with numbskulls twice my age.”

Weiss turned back to Yang, expecting to see pity, but only finding her listening without judgment. That was almost worse, somehow, “I didn’t realize until meeting you and your sister that I had no idea what real optimism looked like. I had forgotten there was something outside carefully guarded facial expressions and waiting for someone’s knife to stick in your back.”

“Once this is all over, I’d very much like to get to know you better. All of you, really. Maybe…” Weiss suggested timidly, “We can arrange to have me spend some time in Vale.” 

Yang beamed at her and Weiss found herself just a little breathless, “I’d really like that. You know, I don’t think you’re a bad person.” Weiss scoffed and Yang plowed ahead, “No really. A bad person wouldn’t want to change, but Ruby told me what you two did yesterday and you listened to Blake’s story. I think you’ll really make a difference here.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, but she was actually kind of touched, “You’re just saying that because we’re going to be married.”

Yang laughed and started to say something, only to be cut off by a deep booming explosion. Then another and another. Weiss felt the blood drain from her face, looking up into Yang’s equally pale face. They both recognized those sounds; Weiss scrambled to her window, but she couldn’t see any smoke from here. She charged towards the door, Yang hot on her heels, to find a better vantage point.

They found it on a third floor balcony on the opposite side of the palace; Weiss felt like she couldn’t breath, staring out to the east where smoke billowed into the sky. “I can’t believe it.”

Beside her, Yang cursed, “And the rest of the Vale army is still at least a day away.”

“The,” Weiss had to clear her throat to stop her voice from trembling, “The Mage Spires will hold. They’re our strongest defenses and it would take an immense force from the inside of the city for them to fall. They’re different from our perimeter towers because all four have to fall before their protection will lapse. As long as we’re inside the city, we’ll be…..” Weiss’s eyes widened as something dawned on her, “The refugee camp.”

She took off, calling for Klein; if there was anyone that would know what her father’s orders were for the refugees, it would be him. It took some time to find him, but Weiss did eventually, he was directing a few panicking servants back to the rooms to calm. He jumped a foot when she suddenly fell on him, grabbing his shoulders in a grip that was probably too tight. “Your Highness!” He exclaimed, following her into a relatively quiet corner.

“Klein, I need to know. The refugee camp, tell me they’re going to evacuate them into the city.” Weiss wasted no time in asking, voice as urgent as she could make it.

She didn’t even need to wait for his words, his expression told her everything she needed to know. Still, she waited until he confirmed her fears, “Your Highness, no, His Majesty gave orders to shut the gates as soon as the next tower fell.”

Weiss slumped in horror; all those people were going to die. She felt so powerless, she couldn’t go against her father’s orders. A hand on her shoulder had her looking up into steady purple eyes. For a moment, she just stared, feeling despair eating away at her, but those eyes never wavered.

It filled her with confidence and determination; she took a deep breath and stood up straighter. She would do something. She would save her people. She was not a little girl and she wanted to be a better person. 

Without another word, she charged off through the palace, headed outside and towards the stables. She knew that Yang was following her, but she paid the barbarian little mind. This was up to her and, if she was being honest, she welcomed the company.

By the time her horse was saddled and Weiss was astride it, she realized she’d amassed quite the little group. Yang had apparently spread the word, because the royal barbarian entourage, minus the King, as well as a few scattered Atlesian and Valean troops were on their mounts behind her.

Weiss acknowledged them with a nod, then turned her horse and kicked her sharply, setting off at a gallop. She slowed once they hit the city proper, but only enough so that she could weave her way through the crowd, which grew thicker the closer they got to the East Gate. Sure enough, the gate was firmly shut, but there was a gathering of people shouting at the guard to open the gate and let the refugees in.

Weiss swung herself gracefully from her horse, marching through the crowd and to the gatehouse. This was where she would find the Wall Captain, the one in charge of the troops stationed on wall defense as well as the one that would have given the order to shut the gate. At first, the Guard didn’t want to let her through, but just her icy glare and status gave them pause. “Get out of my way.” She hissed, not noticing how the crowd behind her had quieted down at her appearance.

The Guard parted for her and she stomped inside, following a narrow staircase up to the second floor of the gatehouse. The bottom floor was just a resting place for on duty guards, filled with a couple tables and chairs, as well as any extra equipment they might need to fulfill their duties. The second floor, however, housed the opening mechanism for the gate itself. 

There was the Wall Captain, as she’d suspected, looking crisp in his shiny armor and blue and white tabard. He was adorned with insignia and braids that denoted his rank and position, but Weiss wasn’t impressed by him, or the four burly men at his back who were obviously the ones to actually work the mechanism.

Instead, she planted her feet, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. The men looked back at her with more fear than curiosity, which boded well for her. She was going to give them something to fear.

“Open the gate!” Weiss screamed, charging up to within a few steps of the Wall Captain, “Our people are still out there, we must open the gates and let the refugees inside!”

The man looked actually terrified, but didn’t move out of her way, spreading out to better block her path to the gate mechanism, “Your Highness, but, we,” He stuttered nervously, “We’re under strict orders from the King himself. The gate is not to be opened under any circumstances.”

“You’ll be leaving our people to die out there.” Even through the thick stone and wood, she could hear the frantic pounding, “The camp is right in the path of the enemy! Open the gates and bring our people in to safety! At once!”

The man swallowed hard and Weiss could see him sweating. Behind him, four men stood, shifting uneasily. The gate was heavy and the mechanism required all their strength to operate. Weiss briefly debated whether she could fight them all if it came to it, but had to shake the idea from her mind. If she could get past this stubborn mule, she’d need them to work the mechanism for her.

“I can’t, Your Highness, I am under strict orders-”

“To hell with your orders!” Weiss cried, stamping her foot in frustration, “There’s five hundred people in that camp and if you don’t open this gate, there will be five hundred deaths. I’ll see you all hanged for every one of them!”

To her credit, all five men paled at her threats. Weiss wasn’t really sure if she’d actually go through with it, she doubted it, in fact, but she’d say anything at this point to get the men to work with her. Unfortunately, it’s seemed not even threats of death were enough to outweigh the fear of her father; the Captain didn’t budge.

Weiss glared hard at him and he looked shamed, “Fine, I’ll do it myself. And after I do, all five of you with be scrubbing the floors of my stables for the rest of your miserable lives.”

She spun on her heel and marched off, nearly mowing down Yang, who she hadn’t noticed approaching. She ignored the taller girl, already beginning to gather magic so that she could cast… something. She wasn’t sure what, yet, but her mind worked overtime as she stomped out of the gatehouse and came to stand in front of the massive gate.

Made of huge beams of dark wood and wrought iron bands, the gate, in theory, worked very simply. Heavy chains connected to a pulley system that lead inside the gatehouse and wrapped around a giant wheel. When the wheel was turned, the chains pulled tight and the gate lifted, a sturdy metal clamp making sure that the gate stayed up until it was released.

Her glyphs would be able to form in the minuscule seam between the gate and the ground, Weiss decided, then she could simply lift the gate with magic. She nearly laughed at herself; ‘simply’? No single mage had ever lifted the gate by themselves, the shear heft of it made sure that they couldn’t and that was the sole reason there wasn’t magical wards in place to prevent such a thing. Rams, fire, axes, there were protections in place for that, yes, but not for what she was going to try.

Slowly, Weiss took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it out. She could feel the power built up inside her, itching to be let out, and took a stance to begin casting. She was vaguely aware of the people around her, all staring and backing away, except for Yang, who simply stood behind her in support. 

Holding out her hands, Weiss easily summoned her glyphs under the gate, two large, white, glowing discs with the Schnee insignia on them. They were thicker and sturdier than any that she normally used and, when she was satisfied that they could handle the weight of the door, she braced herself and began to lift.

Immediately, she felt the heft of the door, heavier than any single thing she’d ever felt before in her life. Already it felt like an exercise in futility to do this, but Weiss forced herself to concentrate, trying to think of the reason she was doing this instead of the actual task. Her people were on the other side of that gate, in danger, in the path of a bloodthirsty army; they were frightened and desperate and she was the only one that could help them.

Weiss grunted as, suddenly, her heels began to sink into the dry ground, the gate lifting just an inch. She felt it separate from the ground encouragingly, but the pressure of holding it increased, not on her muscles, but on her mind. Was she even strong enough for this? Would her magic run out before she’d even begun to work at this?

No, she couldn’t afford to fail, too many people were counting on her. Weiss struggled to take in a breath and on her next exhale, bared down and pushed with all her might. The door climbed higher, just by another inch, but it moved. Inhale, exhale, push; inhale, exhale, push.

Inch by slow inch, the gate rose, the pressure building in Weiss’s head. She tried to focus on her breathing, watching as the heavy barrier creaked ever higher, higher, higher. On one exhale, she felt something pop behind her eyes and then her vision went pink. She grit her teeth, blinking rapidly, sniffling as her nose began to run from the effort. Quite suddenly, she realized that it was actually blood dripping from her nose, getting a taste of iron as she sniffled too deeply.

Still, she continued her task, seeing refugees begin to slither under the gate on their bellies and the people nearby reaching out to help them in. She wanted to curse and yell, her head hurt so badly, she clenched her teeth and felt her labored breaths hiss out of her mouth harshly. There was another popping sensation and all sound was very muffled to her ears; it was difficult not to be distracted by the alarming change, but Weiss pressed on.

Once the gate was forty inches high, Weiss held still, breathing roughly. The people were coming through in droves, she just had to hold on. She thought she might be screaming from the effort, her mouth was open and her throat felt raw, but still she held firm. She saw Pyrrha, Ruby, and Blake, as well as a few other barbarians and even some of her own palace guards, rush out to help in any stragglers.

Once she was certain that everyone was inside, did she finally banish her glyphs, watching the gate drop like a stone. Then there were warm arms around her shoulders and she caught a glimpse of the sky before everything went black.

 

________________________

 

The first thing Weiss became aware of when she came to was the pressure on her left hand. Something was squeezing it uncomfortably tight, the tips of her fingers tingling in protest. She tried to pull it back, cracking open her eyes to catch sight of whatever it was, but as soon as the light hit her, she felt pain shoot through her skull and groaned loudly. Which only caused more pain to her raw throat.

“Weiss?” A muffled, familiar voice said and the pressure on her hand lessened. “You’re awake, just take it easy, I’ll get the healer.” Before she could do anything, Weiss could tell that the person left her side.

While she waited, Weiss slowly and carefully peeked from under her eyelashes, trying to ease her sight back. By the time Yang came back, healer in tow, she was squinting at a bright, rose tinted world. “The refugees?” She croaked out, watching Yang scramble to get her a cup of water.

“Safe.” Yang assured her, voice still strangely muffled, carefully tilting the cup to her lips and helping her drink. The healer muttered and waved his hands over her, checking her over with magic, before beginning a physical examination. “You gave everyone quite a scare when you suddenly collapsed on us, but the doctor seems to think it was normal.”

It was obvious Yang was questioning, asking for confirmation from Weiss herself. It was amusing that it seemed she considered Weiss the foremost magical expert and Weiss felt a smile tug at her lips. 

Before she could let Yang know that the healer did actually know what he was talking about, she was cut off by a very aggravated sigh, “For the tenth time, yes, it’s a symptom of magical exhaustion.” The healer ground out through his teeth.

“What about the hearing loss?” Weiss asked, voice still a little scratchy. “And… Whatever is wrong with my sight?”

“Well, it appears that the strain of what you did actually caused you to bleed.” The healer turned away for a moment and came back with a small hand held mirror. Weiss glanced into it and gasped; the veins around her eyes were swollen and red, almost bruised. Her eyes were totally pink, as though someone had dripped blood directly into them and allowed it to diffuse over the surface of her eye. Tilting the mirror down a bit, she could see veins in her neck were similarly damaged, leading up right to her ears.

“I look like a corpse.” She moaned unhappily, handing the mirror back. She flopped back against the pillows and the healer waved faintly glowing hands over her face slowly.

“You almost were a corpse.” He grumbled, “That kind of strain is dangerous and I’ve spent the last few hours working on the less superficial bleeding. The stuff in your brain. Your Highness, there’s a reason no single mage has ever lifted that gate and it’s because none of them have lived long enough to complete the task.”

Weiss hadn’t even thought of that and she winced, feeling Yang taking her left hand and gently squeezing. “I’m sorry. I had no intention of dying, but I couldn’t leave those people out there. They came to us for protection, it wouldn’t have been right.”

The room fell silent as the healer worked, Weiss blinking as her vision became progressively clearer and her hearing began to come back. When they man finally slumped with a sigh, Weiss almost felt back to normal. 

“Another treatment or two and you’ll be completely healed, Your Highness.” He sounded exhausted and Weiss felt her heart go out to him. “I need to regain my strength, but until then, you’re free to rest in your own room, if you’d like.”

“Yes, that sounds wonderful.” Weiss sat up and immediately felt dizzy. She put her hand to her head with a groan, “Yang, will you please help me to my feet?”

Yang hesitated, then leaned over and carefully slid her arms underneath Weiss. Before she could really register what was about to happen, Yang had scooped her up into a bridal carry, secure in her strong arms. “Sorry, Princess. I think as little time on your feet as possible would be better.”

They all knew Weiss was feeling really weak when she only made a half hearted attempt to shove Yang’s shoulder.

“I’ll come to you after dinner, Your Highness, to give you another treatment.” The healer promised, “You’ll feel quite unsteady until then, so I suggest you eat something hearty and drink some juice to help restore your strength.” He advised before allowing them to finally leave.

Weiss didn’t want to admit to herself how good it felt to allow someone to carry her and cradle her in their warm embrace. She hadn’t felt so safe since she was a child; when was the last time anyone hugged her? Weiss found herself unable to remember, but she suspected it was the last time she saw Winter.

She was quiet, lost in her thoughts as Yang carried her up the back stairwell to her chambers. Weiss appreciated her candor, she would not be happy to be seen like this. As it was, the few servants they did pass stared at her outright and Weiss felt heat flood her cheeks at the unwanted attention.

Finally, Yang was pushing through her chamber door and carefully leading Weiss to her bed. Weiss needed her help to shed her heels and strip to her slip, which brought about a mighty blush, though she was gratified to see a tinge of pink on Yang’s cheeks as well. Pretty soon, she was tucked into her bed, vowing that she’d change into presentable nightclothes before the healer came to her later.

Yang seemed reluctant to leave, so Weiss motioned for her to pull up a chair to sit by her bedside. Once the barbarian was seated and clasping her hand again, did Weiss speak, “How long was I out?”

“A few hours. Lunch was just being served before you woke, that’s where the healer went.” Yang kept her voice low and smooth, something Weiss hadn’t heard from her before.

“Were you with me the whole time?” Weiss asked in surprise, then her eyes narrowed, “Have you eaten yet?”

Yang chuckled, “Yes, I stayed with you. You really gave me a scare. You just flopped back into me without any warning and there was so much blood.” Weiss noticed she wasn’t smiling now, “Your ears, eyes, nose, you even had blood coming from your mouth. We figured out that it was because you bit the inside of your lip, but it still had me thinking you had more bleeding I couldn’t see. I haven’t ridden that hard through a city proper, ever, but I’m glad I did.”

Weiss noticed how she avoided her second question and felt herself pout a little bit. She’d bet her last coin that Yang had skipped breakfast and lunch while waiting at her side. “Can you call one of my servants in here to get us some food? I’m starving.”

Yang literally jumped to comply, “Sure! I remember what the doctor said, I know they’ve got some stew somewhere here.” 

Just before she was about to leave the bedroom, Weiss called out to her, “Don’t forget to get something for yourself, as well. I’m not in danger anymore, you need to eat, too.”

Yang shot her a sheepish look over her shoulder and continued on to ring for the help. Weiss waited patiently, squirming a bit in her bed to sit more upright. After a few minutes and a conversation she couldn’t quite hear, Yang came back to her side.

Hesitantly, Yang reached out and took her hand, “You did a good thing today, Weiss. I’m proud of you.”

Weiss flushed unexpectedly, “Proud of me?” she asked, the surprise forcing her words to burst out.

“Well, yeah.” Yang said as though it were obvious, “I mean, the way you stood up to those stubborn guards was really amazing and then you performed a feat that people are saying was impossible. And, and,” Yang emphasized with a grin, “You saved five-freaking-hundred people.”

“How are they, by the way? I know they weren’t even wanted in the city. They haven’t been arrested, have they? Oh, it would so be like the Guard Captain to send them to jail for vagrancy.” Weiss steamed, clenching her teeth and squeezing Yang’s hand.

“Apparently he tried.” Yang informed her, a little grin on her face, “Ruby told me all about it. Not ten minutes after we left, the bastard rode into the area with a bunch of guards and demanded the arrest of every refugee. Oh, it was great, I wished I could have been there.” Yang tittered at the punchline of her story.

“What happened?” Weiss demanded when her amusement went on a little too long.

“The entire town played dumb.” Yang revealed with a louder laugh, “There were already some people offering their homes to the refugees, but when the Captain came down, the whole process sped up. Ruby said she’d never seen a place clear out so fast, the guards couldn’t even keep up and suddenly most of the town was welcoming ‘extended family’ in and saying they had no idea who were refugees and who were actual citizens.” 

Weiss smiled, both amused and relieved; there was no love lost between her and the abusive Captain, so she was happy on multiple fronts to see him thwarted. She’d once had words with him for breaking a homeless man’s arm. His defense had been that he only took orders directly from her father and further implied that it was because of her gender that he thought less of her. 

Granted that she was used to such treatment, but never so blatant. After that, Weiss made it a goal to undermine him as much as she could get away with. She couldn't actually do much, but she was always looking for the opportunity; after all, it was the thought that counted, right? At least, that's how she used to think.

“I’m so glad that my people pulled together.” Weiss closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to think towards the future after they fended off their attackers. “Is there any news about the summoned army yet?”

She opened her eyes to find Yang’s face contorted into a grimace, “Yeah. It’s looking like they’ll hit the wall before the Vale army does. There’s been plans to try and keep them from surrounding the city, since my people will be coming from the west.”

“But?” Weiss pressed when Yang trailed off.

“Their numbers are greater than originally reported.” By her tone and expression, Weiss gathered that her words were an understatement. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and Yang continued, “Even when our army gets here, we’ll be outnumbered ten to one.”

Weiss was aware of the Valean troops they’d been granted and that was a huge number of enemies to face. She couldn’t help the shaky sigh she let out, “That’s not good.” She said, because what else could she say?

“Yeah.” Yang agreed quietly, “I mean, we’re pretty good warriors, but that’s kind of a tall order. You, uh, may need to start thinking about evacuation.”

They were interrupted by the arrival of their food, both falling silent as the servant helped them get situated. It gave Weiss time to think over Yang’s words. Until today, evacuation hadn’t even been on the table, but there was a real threat of Atlas being overrun. They were a huge city and to move that many people in a time of crisis with almost no warning was a nigh impossible task.

Once they were alone again, and digging into their meals, Weiss voiced these thoughts, “Where would we go? How would we move everyone, especially under the threat we have now?”

“Come to Vale, of course.” Yang said, like it was simple. “When the army gets here, we’ll help you evacuate and guide you to my home.”

“Can you even support an entire country of refugees?” Weiss asked in the smallest whisper. It really couldn’t be that simple.

“I’m sure it won’t be easy.” Yang conceded, “But it’s not like we’ll turn you away. We’re allies and you and I are going to be more than just that.”

“You know, if my kingdom really does fall, there will be no reason to stay betrothed.” Weiss pointed out, quite reasonably in her opinion.

Yang wasn’t having it, “If we lose the city, we’ll just take it back.” Everything was so simple with her, Weiss was learning.

“It’s not that easy. Your kingdom is made up of a bunch of scattered tribes and cities, but here it’s just Atlas. There’s a reason the country and capital share a name and that’s because they’re inseparable. Sure we have dozens of tiny communities spread out over our land, but the number in each small town doesn’t come anywhere close to the size of the main city. Atlas is the heart of my kingdom and without it, we have nothing else.”

“Regardless of that, I still think that it would be beneficial to us to help you keep your kingdom running. Which means there’ll be plenty of reason to keep this betrothal intact.” It seemed that Yang was determined to hand wave away any sort of realism.

Weiss looked at her oddly, “I would have thought you’d be happy to have an out. You don’t strike me as the type to enjoy being told who to marry.”

“Well, sure I’d like an out, but not like this.” Yang gestured around them widely, “Maybe my people won’t be all that happy if they’re just told ‘Hey, we’re gonna take back a foreign kingdom from invaders’, but it’s a tactically sound move to have a whole country between us and said invaders. They keep moving west and they’re gonna hit us anyway.”

That brought a smile to Weiss’s face, “I’m glad to see your determined optimism actually has some pragmatism behind it.”

Yang stuck her tongue out, “I did study some tactics, you know. We are warriors.”

Weiss laughed quietly, but quickly trailed off into a yawn. She wasn’t quite finished with her meal, but a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her hard, “I think I’m still in need of some rest.” She declared.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Yang offered, pulling her tray off the bed and setting it aside. She stood from her chair and began to fuss over Weiss, helping her to lay back and get comfortable.

“No, it’s fine. If you could, though, I’d like you to look into some things for me.” Weiss fought with Yang’s hands for a few moments before giving in and letting the barbarian care for her. If she was honest with herself, it felt pretty nice.

“What kind of things?” Yang asked once Weiss was fully settled, lying back snugly on her pillows, comforter tucked up to her chin. 

“I want to be kept in the loop on tactics, plans being brought up against the summons. I’d like the evacuation to be put forward if they aren’t already talking about it, I think it’s got merit. I want to know what we’re planning to do to fight back and what contingencies there are in mind. All of that kind of information.”

Yang nodded, “No problem, Princess.” Then, strangely, she reached out and tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind Weiss’s ear. Weiss felt herself flush, both surprised and pleased at the contact. “After a bit more rest, I’ll come check on you again, make sure you get some dinner.”

“You really don’t have to.” She found herself saying, and hating that she was, “I have servants for that kind of thing.”

“Maybe, but that won’t ease my mind. I worry about my friends, especially after seeing you bleeding like you’re going to die.” Yang chuckled, obviously trying to bring levity, but Weiss was stuck on one thing.

“We’re friends?” She blinked at Yang, astonished, “But we haven’t even known each other a week.”

“Yeah and I’ve decided that we’re friends.” Yang said, grinning brightly, as though it were just so damn simple.

Weiss contemplated her for a long moment, watching that grin fade bit by bit, until Yang looked downright worried. Deciding that she didn’t much care for that expression on her…. Her friend’s face, Weiss nodded slowly, “Okay. We’ll be friends then.”

Yang chuckled, “You really gotta take everything so seriously. Loosen up, Weiss, friendship isn’t so difficult.”

Weiss huffed, “I’m simply unused to the idea. I don’t have many.” Or any, actually, but that just sounded pathetic.

“You don’t?” Yang asked in surprise. Weiss was glad she didn’t try to make some joke about it. “I thought there were a ton of nobles about here?”

“You don’t have friends in the court. Everyone is too eager to stab you in the back.” Her words came out more bitterly than she intended and Weiss hastened to continue, trying to keep her tone light this time, “Besides, why would I want to be friends with the insipid airheads that actually bother to attend any court events? They’re all dull.”

Yang had an expression on her face that made Weiss look away, heating rising in her cheeks. She couldn’t decide from what, though, shame or embarrassment. “Well, you don’t have to worry about us stabbing you in the back.” She assured with such a gentle voice that Weiss couldn’t bare to glance at her, no matter how much she wanted to in that moment.

“I know that.” She finally said, “You and your sister wear every thought for the world to see. I doubt either of you even have it in you to be duplicitous.”

Silence fell on them for a long moment, the air in the room sobering almost painfully. Weiss risked a glance at the barbarian, finding a slight smile growing on her lips, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Yang said decidedly, rising from her chair, “Get some rest, Princess.” She urged with a hint of finality.

Weiss watched Yang walk away, throwing a short wave out behind her as she exited the bedroom. She really wanted to dwell on the new information she had about the nature of their relationship, but she was honestly so exhausted, and from their encounter as well. Closing her eyes, Weiss finally gave into that and allowed herself to fall into slumber.

____________________

 

Weiss was not normally a light sleeper. She wouldn’t say she was a heavy sleeper, either, no matter how much she disliked early mornings and preferred her beauty rest over work, but she certainly wasn’t one to wake at any little sound. That’s why it was so strange for her to sit bolt upright in bed, feeling like something was wrong.

After Yang had left her earlier, she’d spent most of the day in and out of slumber. The healer had come to see her to give her another treatment, Yang had kept her word about dinner, and then Ruby had come to keep her company for a little while before bedtime. Now, the room was pitch dark and quiet, it couldn’t have been that long since she had fallen asleep, maybe midnight or one. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Weiss tried to figure out what was wrong, because she had a nagging feeling that something was. Blinking quickly to clear the sleep, she nearly shrieked when a shadow moved by her bedside.

“Your Highness, it’s just me.” It was Cherry’s voice and Weiss slumped with relief. She could just barely make out the outline of the girl’s faunus ears in the still clearing darkness. Just the barest moonlight filtered in through her curtains.

“What are you doing here at this hour, Cherry?” Weiss, feeling a slight bout of weakness, rested back against her pillows.

“I was worried for you, Your Highness.” The shadow moved ever closer to the bedside, “I wanted to check up on you.”

That made sense, right? Cherry was her attendant and they’d been growing closer as Cherry had been educating her on the plight the faunus of the city faced. Maybe they were even friends? Weiss was still new to the concept, so she wasn’t sure what that felt like, but surely it must be this?

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine now. It really wasn’t that terrible an injury to warrant a midnight vigil. I’m just tired is all.” Weiss was even building back up her magical energy again. She’d been worried after that exertion it would take much longer to recharge.

“You used up a lot of energy, but you did a good thing.” Weiss was beginning to be able to see the details of Cherry’s face and there was an odd expression that she couldn’t quite place. “You saved so many people yesterday. Your father was fully prepared to let them all die. His own people.”

Something wasn’t right; while they had been growing closer, Cherry had never been this candid before. Weiss felt something cold begin to settle in her belly and her muscles tense defensively. What was happening?

“The city isn’t taking it well. Actually,” Cherry amended, “The nobles are, but the actual majority is livid. With him, of course, [i]you’re[/i] being praised as a hero.” Weiss jumped when the mattress suddenly sank by her side and she noticed that it was because Cherry was kneeling on it.

Pulling her covers up tighter to her neck, Weiss realized that she was actually afraid, the kind of creeping dread that she felt when her father called her into his personal study. She wanted to scramble out of bed and scream for help, except that this wasn’t her father, this was Cherry, her personal attendant. She trusted Cherry, Cherry wouldn’t hurt her. Would she?

No sooner did the thought cross her mind, did Cherry pull herself up until she was straddling Weiss’s hips. “What are you doing?” Her voice was barely a whisper and Weiss was shocked at how timid she sounded.

“Weiss.” Just the foreign sound of her name made her freeze, stunned, “I’ve grown to like you, Weiss. I thought when I came to work for you, you would be this horrible tyrant and I steeled myself to endure any abuse. You were never like that, though. A little foul tempered, sometimes, but you only yelled when people fucked up. A bearable princess.”

Here, Cherry laughed a bit, “Then you had to go and surprise me. You asked me about myself, took a genuine interest in me and in the faunus. In a way, that was the biggest cruelty.” Something glinted in the moonlight and Weiss realized, shaking, that Cherry was holding a wicked looking blade above her with one hand. “When The White Fang finally ordered me to kill you, it was going to be hard, I thought. Luckily, I’m very good at following orders.”

All at once, Cherry flew into action, driving the knife down and reaching out with her free hand to clamp over Weiss’s mouth. Desperately, Weiss thrust her hands up, crossed at the wrists, to block the downward swing. Her mouth instinctively opened to scream, but it was muffled against the blockage in front of it.

Cherry drew back the knife and tried to bring it down again, only to have Weiss block it once more. This time, Weiss twisted her wrist awkwardly to grab Cherry’s attacking arm, struggling to keep the knife from just sinking down and embedding in her throat. Cherry lifted up a little, baring down on Weiss’s grip with her weight. It was only adrenaline that kept Weiss’s muscles from folding immediately under the increased pressure.

She wasn’t going to last long like this, she needed a plan and fast. The obvious answer was to summon her glyphs and throw her attacker into the ceiling, but she needed her hand to do that. She couldn’t make the motion or direct her magic without at least one finger free. Weiss was snapped from her frantic thoughts when Cherry suddenly jerked her arm back in an attempt to wrench herself from Weiss’s grip.

Weiss saw her opportunity and held on for dear life, it would be awkward, but if she timed it just right, she could do this. She just had to be quick. Gathering her energy, Weiss waited for the perfect opportunity, struggling not to buckle under the strain of the struggle against her still weakened body.

She felt Cherry tense up and then jerk backwards again. This time, Weiss let go with both hands and Cherry leaned back farther than she was expecting to. By the time she even thought to lunge forward, it was already too late. Weiss dropped her right hand down, extended her thumb and middle finger, pointing both right at Cherry’s exposed throat.

Two glyphs appeared around Cherry’s neck and Weiss pressed her fingers together and snapped hard and the glyphs separated and there was a horrendous crunch…. Then Cherry fell forward, limp across her chest.

Weiss scrambled to shove her off and over and slid out of bed, a sob forcing itself from her mouth. Falling to the floor with a thump, Weiss crawled backwards until her back hit the wall, a hundred indescribable feelings going through her head and her chest hurting so bad. She felt like she couldn’t breath and she was so cold, eyes glued to the sight in front of her.

Cherry lay still on her bed.

Weiss wasn’t sure how long she sat there, but the next thing she remembered was blonde hair blocking her view of the dead body on her bed and warm arms enveloping her. She was picked up by Yang and carried out of the room, Klein on their heels, to be taken care of by the only two people she could truly trust.


	8. The World Fell From His Shoulders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is one ever really prepared to go to war? Can you fight or can you only survive?

Weiss was barely aware of the trip to Yang’s room, only remembering feeling very warm, before she was being set down on a soft bed with haphazardly thrown covers. “Weiss.” A familiar voice was calling to her. She blinked, then looked blearily up into purple eyes, “Weiss.” Yang said again.

It took her a moment to respond, “Yes. Yes?” Her senses began to come into focus, picking up loud voices outside the room.

“Weiss, something happened.” Yang cupped her face and the warmth of her hands felt almost molten on her cool cheeks.

“Cherry attacked me. She said she was working with The White Fang.” she explained, blinking more rapidly and feeling her head clearing further.

“She’s not the only one.” Yang’s words made her look up in shock, “It looks like there were about fifteen of your servants that were White Fang agents. Your father was attacked, so were we. It looks like they were also trying to set the palace on fire. Luckily, your guard took care of them and we took care of the rest.”

“It’s happening.” Weiss breathed, then shook her head and stood, “I need to get dressed. Is it just the palace they’ve attacked so far?”

“No.” Yang said lowly, then moved to the window and opened it, “Come see for yourself.” Her voice was more somber than Weiss had ever heard it, so she scrambled to comply.

What she saw took her breath away, filling her heart with dread; Atlas was burning. She couldn’t tell how badly, the nature of Atlas’s geography meant that the terrain was almost totally flat, so from this vantage point, she could just see the tops of buildings over the wall surrounding the palace. The flickering orange glow was unmistakable, more so when she could see actual flames lick the roof of some buildings nearby.

“We have to leave.” She breathed out, then forced herself to take a deep breath, “Okay. What’s the status on your army?” She asked sharply, headed towards the door. She jumped when it was ripped open and Klein charged in, carrying a large trunk and a bundle of clothing. He had packed her things, she realized, smiling at him, “Thank you, Klein.”

“Scout said they’re forming up outside the West Gate. They got to the city less than an hour ago.” Yang informed her, “And the troops on the walls have been doing their best to keep the monsters from moving much past the East Gate.”

Weiss nodded, taking the information in while she took the clothes from Klein and began to dress. He and Yang politely turned their backs while Weiss shed her nightgown. She was thankful Klein was sensible enough to not only grab traveling clothes, but also to pack for her. “We need to start the evacuation.” She said, stepping into a light dress with thin straps. She frowned at the length, bending and beginning to tear at the hem. There was no way she could fight, run, or ride quickly unless it came to at least above her knees.

“I want your men to head that up.” She continued, tearing long strips from her dress until she was satisfied with it. She’d remember to get it hemmed when they had a minute to stop. “Take them from wherever they are and have them get my people to safety. If they encounter White Fang agents…” Weiss looked up and caught Yang’s eyes when she glanced back to check the silence, “Deal with them.” She said firmly.

“Understood.” Yang nodded, turning fully around when she realized that Weiss was decent, “What’ll you be doing?”

“I need to make sure the rest of the staff gets clear and knows what’s going on. Klein, please go try to pass the word as much as possible. Take this wing, I’ll take Father’s wing.” Weiss turned back to Yang, “Where is the rest of your family?”

“Scattered, we heard fighting on our level and split to help the rest of the palace. Pyrrha and Ruby are probably together, but I should really try to find Blake.” Yang looked to her expectantly and Weiss realized she was asking permission.

“Make sure you relay orders about the evacuation.” Weiss said, stepping into some sturdy boots, grabbing her favorite bolero and picking up her well loved rapier, “We’ll all meet back at the Main Hall.” Yang nodded and made as if to leave, but something tugged at Weiss. A great sinking feeling like something bad was about to happen, “Yang!” She called out before her friend reached the door. When the barbarian turned around, she said imploringly, “Be careful.”

A cocky smirk spread across her face, “I always am, Princess.” Then it fell to something more meaningful, “You too, okay?” Weiss nodded firmly and then Yang was gone.

 

_____________

 

Weiss charged through the palace with a single minded urgency; every staff member she found she told about the evacuation. She did flag a few calmer people down to ready the luggage and horses for herself and the Vale entourage, though she doubted the barbarians had the foresight to actually pack anything before they ran off.

She was headed for her father’s rooms, taking a roundabout way to get there so that she could take care of the staff. She would find him and tell him, in no uncertain terms, about the evacuation. A huge explosion caught her off guard, the sound of it making her pause to cover her ears.

She became aware of the sound of a lot of stone hitting the ground, mind racing to figure out what had happened. She ran for the nearest window that was facing the direction she thought the explosion came from. It had sounded so close, for a moment, she thought the roof was going to cave in on her.

Peering through the window, Weiss squinted to make out anything in the darkness of that side of the grounds. All she could see was smoke, hanging thickly in the air, before it dawned on her what she wasn’t seeing. 

The Academy Spire was gone.

Weiss felt her breath catch; of course, the attacks, the burning, it was all a distraction so that their enemies could get at the Mage Spires surrounding the city. She didn’t have anymore time to think on that, though, because as soon as she reached the realization, did she hear three identical explosions from elsewhere in the city. Weiss had to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat; Atlas was defenseless against the summons now.

Shaking her head, Weiss sprinted down the hallway, headed towards her father’s bedroom. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been a little worried about news of his attack; as much as she hated caring about him sometimes, he was still her father. She just had to pass his study to get to the stairs, but as she came close, she realized that the door was wide open and someone was inside.

Slowing her run, Weiss cautiously edged closer to the doorframe. Her father almost never left the door open and it was normally locked when he wasn’t in it, so she readied her rapier, expecting the worst. Peering around the corner, Weiss was surprised by the last person she expected to see. “Father?”

He jerked upright from where he was digging through a drawer in a bookcase behind his desk, “Oh, it’s just you.” Weiss had to fight not to feel insulted when he promptly ignored her and went back to his searching.

“Father, we need to leave, the Spires have fallen. The servants are readying horses and I’ve made arrangements to have the city evacuated-” She was cut off by his loud scoff, “You don’t think it’s wise. Father, these are our people, we have to-” 

“Do whatever you want.” He waved a hand at her, as though her and her words were insignificant, “Aha!” He stood up straight, holding something aloft. A closer study told her that it was a large crystal.

“What are you…?” Why was that so important? Weiss looked closer, recognizing it as a Key. A Key was a magical item that could be activated by non-magic users in order to perform a certain, preset spell. She watched her father yank on a book in the bookshelf to his right and the whole furniture piece swung slowly outwards, revealing a hidden nook behind it.

The nook was just tall enough to fit one person inside it and seemed to have been neatly carved into the stone itself. When Father raised the Key to it, symbols lit up on the floor and walls of the nook, a feeling like static filling the air around them.

“You had a contingency.” Weiss realized, watching a portal open up in the nook. 

Her father, no, the King of Atlas, simply turned to her with a cool smile. “Of course I did. I’d have been a fool not to. The portal will lead me to a previously designated safehouse and I’ll come out of this able to fight another day. So long as the King lives, the kingdom does as well.” 

“But just you, right?” Weiss said flatly.

“I am the highest power in this land.” He explained as if he were describing the weather and not leaving an entire city to be doomed, “And it wouldn’t be much of a safehouse if someone could follow me through.”

Weiss wished she could say she was surprised, she wished she could say she wasn’t hurt. She wished for a lot of things in that moment. She settled for giving him the most condescending curtsy she could and saying, “Your Majesty.” in a flat tone of voice.

“Don’t pout, Weiss.” He said, just having to get the last word in, “If you survive this, you’ll still be my heiress.” At that moment, a great shriek was heard, like the call of an upset bird, except from something that was much larger than bluejays that took up residence in their garden, “That’s my cue.” The King said, before stepping back into the portal and disappearing from sight.

Weiss sullenly watched the portal snap shut and the light of it fade from the room and her eyes, before turning around and going to see what the noise had been. She didn’t need to go far before a giant, winged creature burst through one of the windows in the hallway. It was huge, crammed into the hallway in what could not be a comfortable posture, looking like a giant raven, but if birds were made of tar and nightmares.

Weiss felt afraid, drawing her rapier forward out of some well drilled instinct; the creature’s glowing red eyes alighted on her form and it shrieked. Weiss could barely dodge out of the way before it’s massive head jolted forward, beak snapping at her angrily. She had to get her wits together or this was going to be a short fight.

Summoning a glyph and jumping backwards to give herself some room, Weiss took a deep breath, attempting to steady her nerves. She’d had training, she’d fought the Knight that was her father’s big test for her. So what if she’d never used her swordplay outside a controlled environment, she knew what she was doing. The bird was thrusting it’s head against her glyph, trying to break it and coming closer with each successive smash.

Weiss steeled herself, readied Myrtenaster, and on the creature’s next thrust, dropped her glyph and lunged. The tip of her rapier pierced one giant, red eye, her arm a blur as she stabbed into the weak spot over and over again until she was forced to retreat. The creature was not at all happy with her, but it’s movements were limited in the confined space, so a single glyph was all it took to fend off it’s retaliatory attacks.

Unfortunately, the close quarters wasn’t doing much to help her own fighting style. The creature’s beak was guarding the rest of its body, so she really only had access to its face and, at this rate, it would take far too long to kill it. She needed to get at its body and destroy its heart or maybe remove its head from its body, except there was no way she was strong enough to do that.

She took a deep breath and tried to pull her magic, but it was still weak from her exertion at the gate. Maybe she should just run, take the long way around the wing and head towards the Main Hall? However, if she encountered anymore creatures, she’d still have the same trouble.

Her eyes fell to her glyph, still holding strong in front of the enraged, but damaged, creature. Her family crest shined back at her and Weiss snorted. Of course, she could use Dust, it didn’t even need magic to activate, although it could be better controlled with magic, and she was trained in its offensive and defensive uses. Even with the very little magic she had built back up, she could do incredible things with it. 

She’d never incorporated it into her fighting style before, training sessions were usually either swordplay or Dust, but she could improvise. She was certain the King kept Dust in his study and in his rooms. She’d defeat this monster and stock up on what she could. 

Plan in mind, Weiss darted back into the the study and went right to his desk drawers. A few were locked, but liberal application of her very sharp and sturdy blade broke right through the mechanism and she found a small collection of tiny vials, two for each type of Dust. She swiped them, tucking them carefully into the hidden pockets in the sleeves of her bolero. All except for one vial of light blue Dust.

As if on cue, Weiss heard a sound like cracking ice and knew that her glyph was finally broken. She hurried back out into the hallway, hand closed firmly around the vial, pushed just a little bit of magic into the Dust and then threw it at the creature’s feet, seeing in her mind’s eye the shape she wanted it to take.

The vial shattered and with a great burst of power, sharp shards of ice grew up recklessly. The monster shrieked when the ice pierced it’s flesh, catching it from chest to chin, and growing through it to pierce into the ceiling. Luckily, it stopped before it could do anymore structural damage, leaving Weiss staring in awe at the now dead creature. 

It had been an expensive experiment, but with the desired results. She took only another moment to admire her handiwork before turning and sprinting down the hallway. She didn’t encounter another creature as she raced to her father’s chambers, which gave her plenty of time to rifle through his things. 

She knew he had a stash of Dust nearby him at all times, there was probably even some in the throne room. It was a useful substance, volatile, especially when mixed or when met with enough force, but a highly potent form of energy. Since one didn’t even have to be a magic user to access it’s potential, anyone could power lights, stoves, or anything they wanted nearly indefinitely with just a little bit of Dust. 

Even a tiny vial of burn dust, a vial like the kind she had in her sleeves or had thrown at the monster, was enough to last a month in a lantern. Using it to cook food made it last a little less, but it was still powerful. Unbidden, she wondered how many of the lower class had access to Dust. Gritting her teeth, she realized that it probably wasn’t enough, and now that they were being chased out of the Kingdom, Dust would become more scarce.

She found what she was looking for in his wardrobe in a large trunk at the bottom. The trunk was unwieldy, but not heavy, even though she could probably fit her whole body in there if she curled up. It was made of a lightweight, magic infused material, insulated and shock absorbent to keep its contents safe. Inside were dozens upon dozen of those vials, ranging in size from a few ounces to what must have been a gallon container. They were tucked neatly into compartments or wrapped carefully in soft material and when Weiss investigated further, she even found raw crystals tucked away at the bottom.

It was exactly what she needed. Now she just needed to get it out of here safely. A search of the room returned a few large belts and she used those to rig up some makeshift shoulder straps, carefully securing the too large trunk to her too small torso. She jumped a couple times to test her work, satisfied that she could run and move mostly unhindered by her load, then took a breath and darted back out of the room.

As she moved through the hallways, she became aware of much more noise than there was before. A glance towards the Academy told her that there was certainly magical battle going on, bright, colorful lights shining clearly in the darkness with each spell used. However, screams from her own household let her know that they were probably fairing better. She couldn’t let her servants suffer, so she headed towards the nearest set of screams she heard, finding two maids cowering from a large, wolf-like form.

“Hey!” Weiss called out to it as she skidded into the room, rapier held at the ready, “Pick on someone else.”

The creature looked between her and the two maids, then seemed to decide to deal with the easier prey first. It reared up on its back legs, claws held aloft, a howl of anger coming from its mouth. It had obviously thought it would have plenty of time, but Weiss, luckily, was faster. Her glyphs aided her, allowing her to glide along the floor at breakneck speed. It howled in pain as her rapier buried itself between two ribs.

“Run! Escape the city through the West Gate and be careful!” She shouted at the two servants, eyes locked on the creature. She was aware of them scrambling to their feet and heeding her words as fast as they could.

Weiss darted backwards as the creature snarled, swiping its claws at her forcefully. She made sure to use the motion to rip the monster’s side more as she extracted her weapon, but quickly dipped back closer, jabbing it under the arm a few more times. It dropped back onto all fours, black sludge dripping heavily from its wounds and pooling in a noxious puddle on the floor.

Weiss knew she needed to end this fast; that little glyph stunt she pulled had drained almost the rest of her reserve of power and she was already feeling fatigue settling in. Reaching into her sleeve, she felt around in her pocket until her fingers ran across the familiar etching of a flame on one of the vials she kept there.

One little bit of energy was all she needed, then she’d head to the Main Hall and try to see about leaving. The beast never saw it coming, her hand whipping out lightning fast and the vial of red Dust shattering across its face. Then it was engulfed in flame, howling once at the incredible pain of the conflagration, before it was quickly consumed. 

Weiss had to take a few steps back it was so hot, but as quickly as the flames had come, they dissipated, leaving a large, scorched area where the beast once stood. Weiss was relieved to see the sludge was gone as well, feeling like it was somehow important to get rid of that. Maybe it was the smell, which made her think of rotten things and infection, but she did not want that on her skin or clothes if she could help it.

She turned to leave the room, fighting off lightheadedness, finally heading to her destination. She would be no good to anyone if she passed out and/or died, so they needed to escape while they could. Of course, she really couldn’t be that lucky, because she’d not even made it to the end of the hall before the windows were bursting inwards, showering her with glass.

She didn’t even have the strength to bring up a glyph, covering her head with her arms, but still feeling shards biting into her ear, neck and shoulder. She quickly looked up, expecting another creature, but was surprised to find five humanoids standing around her. Faunus, she recognized, seeing tails, horns, and sharp teeth. The White Fang, she realized, seeing white bone masks and white tabards with their logo on it; a wolf head with three red slashes through it.

“Well, well, looks like we hit the jackpot.” Said the biggest one, the leader she guessed, propping a wicked, jagged looking blade across his shoulders. The rest of the group readied their weapons, “There’s no need to take her alive, but we certainly don’t have to kill her right away.”

She was in trouble, she was surrounded, and she would never let these savages see her fear. She glared, holding her rapier out and trying to control her fatigue tremors. “I won’t make it easy.” She threatened, making her voice as low as she could.

It wasn’t nearly as intimidating as she hoped, the big man just grinned viciously, “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

There wasn’t going to be enough room in the hallway for her to fight them all off, Weiss had realized as soon as she recognized the danger. Sure her rapier didn’t take up much room, but it was a piercing weapon first and foremost. On top of that, she was nearly surrounded, which would make fending them all off much harder, especially since most of them had short blades and daggers, with the exception of the big guy.

So Weiss did the only thing she could think of; she charged forward and dove headfirst out the window. They were on the first floor, the window facing the front lawn, so Weiss tucked her shoulder down, sailing over a neatly kept hedge. She twisted in mid air, trying to land on her feet, and stumbled forward, managing to just barely jostle the trunk on her back. Honestly, it was one of her more impressive moves, she couldn’t help feeling a little smug as she straightened and faced the house in a ready stance.

The White Fang members weren’t far behind her, clambering chaotically out of the windows, a few tearing their clothing, one getting stuck in a bush and coming up scratched by the tiny branches and leaves. The only one that was perfectly calm was the big guy, moving with surprising grace for his size. He was the last one out, so Weiss focused on the member that was closest to her.

He was short, tusks poking from underneath his mask, a small, rusty sword held in a too tight grip. Weiss didn’t give him any time to think, she charged forward, thrusting her rapier towards his chest, trying not to think about anything except surviving. He managed to block two of her swings, but her third caught him under his collar bone and he gave a cry when it tore through him.

He fell back and Weiss pulled her sword free with a jerk, turning to face a woman with thick, horse like ears. She swung at Weiss wildly, with a loud cry, and her saber bounced off Weiss’s blade with a clang. The force of the clash reverberated up Weiss’s arm and she took quick steps back as the woman pressed forward furiously. 

Weiss wasn’t even sure if the woman was really trying to hit her or if she was just really bad at swordplay, but her ferocity kept Weiss on the defensive and from being able to reciprocate. Over the woman’s shoulder, she spied the other attackers marching towards them with determination and knew that she was about to be in trouble.

“Graaah!” A familiar voice yelled, right before a ball of fire impacted right in the middle of the oncoming assailants. The magic impacted and exploded, the force of it instantly killing one man and sending the other two flying, badly burned. The big guy flipped backwards, only to be met with a bundle of viney thorns that hadn’t been there a moment before.

Weiss’s opponent cried out and stumbled forward, her back visibly smoking from the heat of the fire ball. Weiss raised her hand to shield her face, her exposed skin feeling like she’d sat in front of the fireplace too long. Luckily, it seemed like her opponent had shielded her from the brunt of it and she recovered quickly, surging forward to drive her blade into the woman’s chest.

She felt resistance as her blade scraped against a rib, but judging from the way the woman almost immediately began to slump, Weiss had hit her target. She didn’t wait to watch her die, instead, she kicked the woman off her blade and made for the two men that had been knocked aside and were only now beginning to rise.

They were both badly burned, holding their wounds and crying out or whimpering. Weiss didn’t think, she just acted, flicking her rapier to knock the weapon from the hand of the man on her left. “Yield.” She demanded, resting the tip of her blade against his throat.

To her right, she saw Nora bounce up to the other man, eyes wild and hands gleaming with sparks. Behind her, Ren was working a spell, binding the big guy in thick vines, thorns digging in painfully whenever he struggled.

“Never.” The faunus growled, baring his fangs at her. He held up his uninjured hand and Weiss saw wicked claws at the end of his fingers.

“You can walk away from this.” Weiss offered, “You don’t have to die.” He wouldn’t listen, she could see it in his eyes. The way he looked from her face to her blade, to her hand, the way his muscles tensed, preparing to move. He would lunge at her hand, try to knock her blade away, then swipe at her with those deadly claws. “Don’t.” She warned, voice low.

He didn’t listen.

She was faster, though, and as soon as he jerked, she swiped her rapier against his throat, blood spurting over her shoulder as his jugular opened up. She stepped back, trying to avoid the mess as he fell to his knees, clutching his neck, blood pouring from between his fingers with every beat of his heart.

His eyes were filled with hatred to his last moment.

Weiss tore herself away from the gruesome scene, looking at Nora and her captive, the man with a scorched red fox tail kneeling, hands above his head, weapon on the ground. “Not that I don’t appreciate the help, but what are you two doing here?”

“The creatures overran the Academy.” Nora reported, voice grim, “The Headmaster is missing and Professor Goodwitch told us to evacuate. We came this way because we heard screaming, fought a few of those monsters and saved some of your people. Then we saw you.”

“Guys.” Ren called, voice tense, “I can’t keep him like this forever.” Weiss looked over and saw the big guy resolutely struggling against his bonds, ignoring the way the thorns tore his skin. It seems that the blood was making the vines slick and they were having trouble gripping him and Weiss had never felt so horrified and awed.

“I got this.” Nora gave a grin that could only be described as vicious, stomping towards the prone man and laying her sparking hands on him. Weiss walked towards Nora’s former captive and knocked her hilt against the back of his head, watching him slump, unconscious.

When she turned back towards the big guy, he was also out cold. She wanted to ask if he was dead, but she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about either answer. Instead, she said, “We need to get out of here. I’m completely drained, I won’t be able to fight much longer.”

Before anyone could say anything else, there was an explosion of force at the top of one of the palace’s towers, the stone completely obliterated. A blinding white light became starkly visible, followed by a familiar voice shrieking, “PYRRHA!”

Weiss felt cold sink into her heart at the desperate tone from Ruby’s voice. “I changed my mind, we need to go there, now.”

“We’ll go.” Ren insisted, “If you can barely fight, you’ll be a liability.” 

Weiss hated to admit he was right, but he was. She hesitated, “Meet up in the Main Hall, from there we’ll head to the horses.”

Ren nodded, then he and Nora took off at a run, finding the nearest door and going through. Weiss let out a heavy breath, fighting off her fatigue, and made her way towards the front door at a light jog. She was happy to see their forces gathered there, Atlesian and Valean alike, fighting back the forces of The White Fang and the creatures with a great deal of success. 

They were spread out on the lawn, shoulder to shoulder, holding firm against anything that tried to break through. They spotted her as she approached and called out, “Make a hole! Make a hole! Let her through!”

Weiss picked up her speed, dodging between a large, bear like creature and another wolf monster, and slipping into the safety behind the guards. Now that she wasn’t in the middle of a fight, she was beginning to feel shaky, stumbling up the stairs and into the Main Hall. The trunk on her back bumped a door frame and she groaned as it almost sent her to the ground.

“Miss Weiss!” Suddenly, Klein was there, a hand on her waist to steady her, “Are you alright?”

“Exhausted.” She admitted, “Where are the others?” She allowed him to lead her further into the room and that’s when she saw them.

Yang and Blake laid out on the floor, the faunus sobbing, clutching Yang’s hand, repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” over and over again. Two servants frantically worked to bandage their wounds. Blake, it seemed, had been stabbed in the side, her hand pressing tight at the place under her ribs, but Yang…

Her right arm was missing.

Weiss realized that she was gaping and shut her mouth with a click, “What happened?” She asked Klein in an urgent whisper.

“Miss Blake showed up here a few minutes before you did, carrying Miss Xiao Long. She hasn’t said anything else.”

Weiss took a shaky step forward and it was like legs wouldn’t hold her up anymore. She nearly dropped to the floor, but Klein was there, guiding her into a chair. “Father is gone.” She found herself saying, “He left us to our fates.”

When she looked up, Klein looked like he wanted to apologize; understanding passed between them. ‘I’m sorry he abandoned you, I’m sorry you’re alone, I’m sorry this isn’t the best time to comfort you.’ All he said was, “I see.” It was enough.

“Where is the Valean King?” Weiss asked, trying to move on. She obviously knew where Ruby and Pyrrha were, but she certainly wasn’t going to evacuate until their whole group was together.

“He took a group to secure the stables.” Klein informed her, “We’re just waiting on Miss Rose and Miss Nikos.” 

Weiss nodded, leaning back against the trunk she still had on and watching the chaos around her. The guards made this a relatively safe place, so she could relax for now. She wanted to sleep, but she was too worried, anxiety forming a pit in her stomach.

The servants that were working on Blake and Yang finally separated them, loading Yang onto a makeshift stretcher, Blake almost refusing to let go of her hand. ‘Oh.’ Weiss thought dimly, seeing the utter anguish in Blake’s face, ‘So it’s like that.’ She wondered if Yang felt that same way, if they both hated her for getting between them.

She thought back on her interactions with them both, examining her memories for any other signs of their love for each other. If they were together, they hid it well; perhaps this was pre relationship. Maybe if she hadn’t come along, they would have been happy together. Even though none of this situation was in her control, Weiss felt inexplicably guilty.

“Blake.” She called out, watching a servant help the faunus to her feet. Weiss stood, coming over to her and taking the servant’s place under her arm, “Come sit over here.”

“But Yang-” Blake started to protest, watching Yang on her stretcher get carried to the corner where a very flustered healer was working on people.

“Will be okay.” Weiss insisted, leading Blake as gently as she could to the seat she had just vacated, “Listen, we’re going to be getting out of here soon. I sent someone after Ruby and Pyrrha and then we’re leaving. We’ll go to Vale.” She was just trying to talk, just trying to take Blake’s mind off of Yang.

“I can’t go back with you.” Blake said, quick, panicked, and Weiss saw her eyes were wide, “He found me, he knows I’ll go there. He knows I care for these guys and he’ll…. He’s going to kill them.”

“You’re safer with us than on your own.” Weiss said firmly, gripping Blake’s wrist tightly, “You can’t just leave and anyway, you should at least tell Yang to her face if you are going to.”

That just seemed to make Blake more anxious, “I can’t, I can’t! If I stay, if I talk to her… I’ll never leave. She’ll look at me and tell me that we can face anything together and I’ll believe her because Yang’s the strongest person I know. Then he’ll come for her and it’ll be my fault he kills her. He’ll kill everyone I love.”

Was it really worth arguing with her? Was it worth trying to force her to do something that terrified her? “Where will you go?” Weiss asked softly.

“I’ll… Go to Menagerie. Finding a specific faunus there will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Blake said after a moment of thought.

“Isn’t your family there? Won’t going there put them in danger, too?” Weiss asked, watching Blake swallow hard. 

“Yes, but Menagerie is far enough away that I’m hoping he won’t follow. Yang lives right next door. I have to hope that he won’t go after her while I’m not around.” It was desperate and stupid, but Weiss couldn’t blame the girl for wanting to find comfort in her family.

“Okay.” Weiss conceded quietly, “When will you leave?”

“Now.” Blake said, voice firm. Weiss gaped. “Please, look out for Yang while I’m gone. I’ll come back when there’s no longer a threat, but I just know my leaving is going to hurt her. She might never forgive me. People have left her before and I know she hates it, but I’d rather have her alive to be mad at me, than dead because of me.” Blake took her hand, giving Weiss the most pleading look she’d ever seen, “Please, promise me you’ll stay with her. Watch out for her when I can’t be there.”

Weiss wanted to say no, that it wasn’t her responsibility, but Blake was so earnest and afraid, determined and she needed to know Yang would be in good hands. What else could she do, but agree? “I promise.” Is she running from fear or guilt? Which is worse? The action or the reason?

Maybe it’s not her place to say.

Blake looked relieved, but she didn’t say anything else, she didn’t need to, it was plain on her face. Then her expression firmed in determination; she spared a look towards the corner, towards Yang, then she stood, turned and jogged off, hand cupped to her side. Weiss watched her go, thinking about the trouble she’s going to have explaining this, hoping Blake will be safe, hoping they’d meet again someday.

Then someone is calling her name and she jerked her head forward, seeing Ren and Nora running towards them. Pyrrha was cradled in Nora’s arms and Ruby was slumped over Ren’s back, both were unconscious. _She hopes; both are unconscious, she hopes._ She stands quickly, swaying on her feet, feeling Klein reach out to steady her, but takes a step towards them and sees an arrow piercing Pyrrha’s chest.

“Is she…?” Weiss can’t bring herself to say the word, but sighs in relief when Nora shakes her head.

“Alive, but the arrow is stuck in her bone. Looks like her armor caught the brunt of it, then it lodged in her ribs.” The girl reported, allowing a healer to take Pyrrha from her.

“And Ruby?” Weiss asked, watching Ren carefully set the much smaller girl down onto a makeshift stretcher.

“Not sure. She was knocked out cold when we found them, but those creatures were frozen all around. Looks like there was a battle up there.”

Weiss felt her heart seize up, looking at the extent of the casualties. “As soon as Pyrrha is able to travel, we’re leaving.” She declared, looking at Klein. He nodded and went to inform the healers looking over Pyrrha and Yang.

To keep herself busy, she called out to some guards that were milling around, gathered some servants to carry the prone women. She let everyone know, in no uncertain terms, what their jobs were going to be and told them to prepare what they needed to make it to the stables and out of the city. 

It wasn’t just going to be the royal entourage leaving the palace, either, they were going out with the wounded and the non combatants. She found out from Klein, when he came back to her side, that several groups had already left before them. Weiss was glad to know that, she had been worried about their servants and hoped the majority made it out alive. 

It was another agonizing ten minutes before the healer deemed Pyrrha to be in the clear for travel, but once the report came, Weiss snapped into action. Since she’d taken the time beforehand to let everyone know what was expected, she didn’t even have to yell much to get things going.

Between her, Ren, Nora, and a small contingent of guards, the injured they were transporting were in safe hands. Weiss stayed towards the middle, ending up at Yang’s side as two servants carried her stretcher. She tried not to let her eyes wander to her betrothed as they exited a side door, avoiding the cluster of fighting at the front of the palace.

Then they moved at a brisk pace towards the stables; which were about a quarter mile off to the side of the main palace building. The grounds were mostly clear of trees, so Weiss was confident they’d avoid ambushes, but they did run into a few stragglers. Easily dispatched with a coordinated group, Weiss only had to swing her blood stained rapier twice before they made it to the stables.

The King was already there, a contingent of mixed Valean and Atlesian guards spread out on a protection detail for the area. Occasionally, there was a battle shout and sounds of fighting, but it was far enough away that Weiss wasn’t worried. They were ushered towards waiting horse drawn carts and wagons, the injured immediately loaded up onto them with care.

The King, worry in his blue eyes, came to greet them personally, “What happened?” He asked Weiss, the only one still on two feet.

Weiss let her eyes scan over the prone forms of Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha as they were directed to the biggest wagon where she recognized her clothing trunk already packed up into it. She bit her lip and turned back to the King, “I don’t know details. Blake is…. She’s alive, but she’s run off. She blames herself for what happened to Yang.”

The King sighed, running a hand through hair so messy that Weiss was certain this wasn’t the first time he’d done so tonight. “Okay, get in the wagon with the others, it’ll take you out of the city and on towards Vale. We’ve set up a route straight to the gate and my army is holding the creatures so that we can facilitate the evacuation.”

“How much have we managed to evacuate so far?” Weiss asked worriedly. A part of her wanted to stay, to help, but she knew that she would be no good to anyone while she was drained and nearly dead on her feet. Still, she needed to know her people would be okay.

“A good bit.” The King said reassuringly, resting a hand on her shoulder, “I’m not going to lie, we’ve lost whole sections of the city due to fire and the creatures, but we’ve gotten a huge chunk of your citizens out. The White Fang were rioting and took the North Gate immediately, but the men on the walls and at the East Gate held for a while, allowing us to secure escape from within the city and allowing us to put up a defensive to keep the creatures from the West Gate.”

“And the Guard outside the Palace? Did they manage to get off the walls and West Gate in time?” Weiss asked, thinking of the archers keeping the creatures at bay and the men she’d yelled at just yesterday at the West Gate.

The King gave her a solemn look and she knew, but she waited for him to say it anyway, “They were warriors to the end.” It was small comfort that his words were high praise in his culture that valued great fighters. “They knew what they signed up for when they joined your Guard.”

“No, they didn’t sign up for this.” Weiss bit her lip hard, feeling a great wave of sadness wash over her. “Will you be coming, too?”

“Not yet. We still have to finish evacuating the palace, then I’ll withdraw with my men. By then, we should be mostly done with the city and I’ll pull back the rest of my forces. It looks like we picked up a lot of students from your Academy. Apparently they were overrun and the entrance to the city was blocked off by the creatures.”

Weiss thought back to the Academy, her favorite place, the halls and classrooms, the library, the places she spent her childhood. She thought back on the last conversation she’d had with Professor Goodwitch and felt a great sorrow, “Just students? Were there professors that made it as well?”

“Some. Headmaster Ozpin didn’t make it, apparently, so Goodwitch took over getting the students out. She helped us clear a path and hold the initial line while we set up the perimeter here. She’ll probably be with me when we finally leave, assuming she survives this. It seems like a good chance, she’s scary powerful. Most of the other teachers are with her, helping to clear out what they can and find any nearby stragglers.”

“Your Highness.” Klein called out form behind them, prompting Weiss to turn to look, “We’ve packed up the wagon, everything is read to go.”

“I’m coming.” She assured him, then turned back to the King, “Thank you, Your Majesty.” She said solemnly, “I won’t forget how you’ve helped us. I may not have much left, but I’m at your disposal in whatever way I can be.”

“We’re allies.” He said, a sad smile tugging at his lips, “That’s something I take very seriously. There will be time for more discussion later, go get on the wagon and get out of here safely.”

Weiss nodded and turned, marching towards where Klein was waiting, with all the air of royalty she could muster. This was a terrible situation, but she had her pride and she would not slink from her city like a kicked dog. She would retreat with her head held high in defiance, a promise to come back someday clear.

The wagon she allowed Klein to help her into was huge and uncovered, pulled by two equally large horses. Her trunk and what she could only guess was the Valean entourage’s luggage was pushed neatly against the the back wall of the wagon, just behind the driver. It was wide and long enough that Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha were laid out next to the luggage with plenty of room for Weiss and Klein and the additional trunk to sit comfortably at the far end.

Weiss almost sagged when she sat down, hands tucked into her lap, pressed between her Dust trunk and the back wall of the wagon, Myrtenaster in her lap. She hadn’t been settled for long before the driver gave a call and the horses pulled forward, sending the wagon into motion with a jolt.

The ride from the stables to the stone wall that separated the palace from the city was longer than Weiss remembered and she didn’t appreciate the long stretch being made in relative silence. Even though there was nothing to say, she found herself wanting to speak, to drown out her tumultuous thoughts or the distant screams of people she wanted to refuse to think about dying or worse. 

There wasn’t much in the way of distraction, the perimeter the King set up did its job and no threats got anywhere near them and the scenery itself was sparse. The closer they got to the wall, however, the more Weiss couldn’t ignore the orange glow of the fires and the sounds of fierce battle and people suffering.

Taking a deep breath to try and steel herself, Weiss regretted it almost immediately, the stench of death and smoke filling her head and making her cough. Finally, they passed through the blackened archway that indicated the separation between them and the people and Weiss clenched her teeth at the first sight of the destruction.

The city was filled with tightly packed blocks of housing, which meant that a fire could be swift and deadly. They’d tried to account for this by warding most of the city with magic, various spells to prevent and treat an outbreak of fire. They even had a well trained volunteer fire brigade and the citizens had counted on them multiple times to keep casualties low.

With normal fires, anyway; Dust fires, however, were powerful and volatile, fueled by a resource that helped even a non-mage harness the power of the elements. Weiss knew the stain of the substance, she’d studied it for years, run her own trials with it, in and out of the classroom. It was the Schnee family’s biggest export and they were pioneers in it’s mining and use.

These fires, still burning brightly in piles of ash, reeked of Dust use. Even worse, with the creatures and the rioting, she guessed to fire brigade hadn’t even had a chance to mobilize. Riding slowly through the city now was like moving through a burning graveyard, she could almost feel the way lives had ended here, energy lingering from painful suffering.

Or maybe it was her imagination, fueled by the horrors she was seeing. People were screaming, bodies lay everywhere, most burnt beyond recognition. She saw a lone faunus child, sobbing into a stuffed animal, his swaying tail a stump of ruined flesh. 

Weiss swallowed hard and called out to a guard, “Hey, that child! Put them in one of the wagons.” He started to argue with her before realizing who he was speaking to. Weiss watched like a hawk as her will was carried out, the child hoisted into a wagon a few behind her own. She was relieved to see someone immediately reach out to begin tending his wounds, finally turning her eyes back to the carnage.

Luckily there didn’t seem to be too many people on the streets that weren’t working or moving with purpose. When she did spot one, she called out, either to the person or a nearby guard, telling them to join the evacuation. Those that could walk did so beside the carts and wagons, trying to stay out from under the horses. Those that couldn’t or were young, were piled into wagons wherever there was an empty place.

Weiss even found herself and Klein pulling a young man into their wagon, his arm bent at an odd angle and cradled against his chest. His eyes were perpetually wide, barely seeming to know where he was, and Weiss looked to Klein for help in patching his wounds up. They didn’t have much to work with, settling for tearing up a portion of one of the linen sheets draped over Ruby to use as a bandage.

It kept her busy for a good bit of the ride to the gate, although she kept an eye out for stragglers and made sure to inform the guards they passed to do so as well. Finally, she looked up from fussing over the nameless man and saw the West Gate looming in front of them.

'This was really it', Weiss found herself thinking, she was really leaving her home, perhaps for good. The energy was frantic the closer they got to the gate, men on top of the walls firing arrows rapidly at flying creatures, sounds of battle just beyond and those strange, whooping shouts of Valean battle cries.

Weiss wrapped her arms tightly around herself, nails digging into her sides as they approached the exit to the city. She wasn’t sure what to expect and that only heightened her anxiety. Weiss forced herself to take a breath, schooling her features into neutrality and letting her arms relax. She would face this head on, she would not cower at her uncertain future. She was a Schnee and the heir to the throne, regardless of how her home had fallen.

Still, as the wagon pulled under and away from the West Gate, she felt her breath catch at the sight awaiting her. A sea of men, all in the brown Valean furs and leather, parted before them, creating a passage from the city towards the west. She had heard the numbers, but to seeing them out here was mind boggling. 

The wagon gave her a little height, too; she was able to view over the heads of the warriors and could see where men met creature, a great wave of brown crashing against a black shore. Unbelievably, it looked like the Valean fighters were easily holding their own, surging together in a dance of metal and flesh. From her vantage point, she couldn’t quite make out details where the bulk of the fighting appeared to be, but the occasional flying beast would soar towards the wagon train, only to be brought down by arrows and swarmed by the men waiting on the ground.

It left her in awe; she didn’t realize until that moment how sheltered she was in her palace. She understood now, with perfect clarity, that she was truly still a child. How much battle had Yang or Blake or Ruby or Pyrrha seen? At the first sign of danger, she’d holed up away from the world, yet continued to think that she still lived in it. She had no idea what it was to lose everything, to risk everything for any reason.

She would change herself, she vowed, from this moment on, she would leave her childish notions behind. She would work, train, and she would come back here, take her city back and give her people a ruler to be proud of.


	9. Life Goes On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just because tragedy has struck doesn't mean that things don't try to continue. Whether you're ready or not.

The journey from the West Gate onward passed by in a slow trudge. After they were out of danger, Weiss tried to sleep some, only managing to doze off and on until finally giving up. Her head was too filled with thoughts of those she’d killed and Myrtenaster in her grip only reminded her that the blade was stained with blood.

After that she spent her time conversing with the driver, learning that his name was Dominic and he’d evacuated his family almost as soon as the call to leave went up. She also found out that he’d been among the original refugees from the east and had been so moved by her stunt at the East Gate that he’d offered up his wagon to help, not even expecting that he’d get to thank her in person.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that they finally came across a small camp the Valean’s had set up for them. Weiss was grateful for the chance to stretch her legs and they were even passing out rations and had warm food and fresh water ready. After everything that had happened, the hot meal of stew and bread was like a gourmet creation. Weiss had been trembling from lack of sustenance, the drain on her magic magnifying the effects of her hunger.

She found out while they ate that the Valeans had set up a series of camps along the road back to Vale for the refugees, giving out food and medical treatment as needed, as well as a place to sleep for the night. When she found out there were healers available here, Weiss directed them to her wagon to see to the wounded there.

All in all, the whole stop took maybe an hour, but it was exactly what she needed to feel refreshed and ready to continue. The healer tended to her still unconscious friends, but had decided that the nameless man, still silent from his shock, wasn’t fit to travel yet and carefully pulled him into a large tent. It was decided that they would continue without him and they piled back into the wagon, with a bundle of water and rations, heading down the road a few more hours until they reached the next camp.

Weiss kept up conversation with Dominic as they went, asking about his family and farming, either funny anecdotes or the more business side of things. It was enlightening to her in many ways, hearing first hand how non noble families lived and worked, learning about what money meant on a smaller scale. It wasn’t that she didn’t know before now, but that she didn’t truly understand. 

The sun was almost completely set by the time they made it to the second camp and Weiss was well and truly tired. It was decided that Dominic would spend the night with the wagon while Weiss and Klein would stay on a cot in a tent and then they’d rotate the duty daily. Weiss was looking forward to a bath and being able to really stretch out after so long in the cramped wagon. 

They brought Dominic some of the stew being served, then Weiss set off towards a nearby pond with a few other women to wash off. The water was cold, so she didn’t linger except to wash herself and what she had been wearing, but it was nice to get into some clean clothes afterwards. She had to take some time to shred the dress shorter the way she’d done her first outfit and once she was done, she headed back to find Klein.

He was waiting for her, having freshened up as well, and she hugged him when she saw him, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m glad it was you I made it out with.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, as well, Miss Weiss.” He replied, squeezing her fiercely. He pulled back after a moment and gave her a pointed look, “You are okay?”

“I think so. I will be.” She sighed, sitting on the edge of her cot, “What are we going to do?”

Klein was silent for a moment, then gave her a compassionate look, “We’ll endure and make the best of things.”

She chuckled, “You make it sound simple.”

“It won’t be, it’ll probably be harder than anything we’ve had to do before.” He said it so casually, so matter of factly, that Weiss felt as though there was no choice but to accept this truth. “However, we have each other and we have our health, things can’t be but so dire when we have all of that.”

“You know, I believe you?” Weiss said, with a small smile. Klein did always have a way of making her feel better.

“Get some sleep, Miss Weiss, we have to be up bright and early tomorrow.” Klein laid back on his cot and Weiss followed his example, turning on her right side so her back was to him.

Myrtenaster came to rest in the crook of her elbow, her left hand relaxed around the grip. Her eyes focus on the blade; she didn’t need light to see the details, she’d memorized every chink and the pattern of the dried blood, rust red by this point. She should take care of it, she should try to clean it as best she could with what little she had.

Some irrational part of her rebelled, if it was clean, what happened if she used it again? She’d be memorizing new chinks, new blood patterns. Like this, she couldn’t tell what was old and what was new. Weiss sighed at herself, that was dumb, she knew it was, but somehow cleaning it felt wrong. There wasn’t blood on her hands anymore, she’d scrubbed it away. With blood on her blade, at least everyone could see what she’d done and she wasn’t pretending like she was okay with it.

Clenching her teeth, Weiss resolutely tugged one of her dress scraps free from her pocket and reached out to pour a little water on it. Then she forced herself to wrap the fabric around her blade and carefully scrub the stains off. She tried to pretend that her tears weren’t dripping onto her tainted Myrtenaster and helping to wash the residue away.

 

____________

 

They were back on the road the next morning after a quick breakfast. Weiss was beginning to worry about their injured party, the three girls had been completely out ever since they left and had been without food or water since then. The healers they ran into certainly helped with any ill effects of dehydration, but seeing them so still for so long felt unnatural and worried Weiss.

Luckily, as they rode through lunch, making a meal of the rations they’d been given, Yang let out a small groan and began to stir. Weiss froze, a cracker halfway to her lips, staring intently at the blonde’s form. When nothing else happened for a long moment, she began to wonder if she’d imagined it, but then Yang let out another noise and her eyelids began to flutter.

“Yang?” she tried, leaning forward eagerly, “Yang, can you hear me?” Her words seemed to have an effect, the barbarian struggling to open her eyes, noises that were barely human clawing their way out of her throat.

It sounded painful, Weiss grabbed a flask of water and maneuvered closer, carefully lifting Yang’s head up and pressing the flask to her lips. As soon as the cool water touched her lips, she began to drink greedily, her stump coming up in an instinctual motion. Weiss realized Yang was trying to grab the flask at the same moment that Yang realized she had nothing to grab it with.

Yang gasped and began to choke, spilling water over her chin and Weiss jerked the flask back and helped Yang sit up further, patting her on the back. It took a few moments until Yang calmed, but even once the coughing faded, she still cleared her throat occasionally. Weiss watched her silently, not sure what to say.

The silence stretched as Yang turned her head to take in her surroundings, Ruby and Pyrrha to her right, still unconscious, Dominic behind her on the reins, Klein doing his best to give them privacy. The wagon, moving at a steady pace through plains that she most likely recognized, their bags and Weiss’s trunks, their weapons off to the side.

Weiss noticed that she refused to look down at the remains of her arm.

“What happened? Where’s Blake?” Weiss grimaced before she could school her features and Yang asked again, panic lacing her voice, “Where's Blake?”

“Alive.” Weiss hastened to reassure, watching Yang’s shoulders slump a little in relief, “But she’s not with us.”

“Okay, where is she then?” Yang’s voice was subdued and Weiss realized that she knew the answer already.

Her heart went out to Yang and she made her voice soft when she replied, “She thought that it was safer if she left.”

“Of course she did.” Yang grumbled bitterly, but then fell silent. Weiss saw her fist clench in the linen that covered her legs.

“We’re still a few days off from Vale. We’ve been traveling a day and a half and we still have a ways to go.” She tugged a ration bag closer and began pulling things out, “Here, you should to eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” Yang sighed, turning her head away in what was dangerously close to a pout.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ve been out for more than a day, you’re injured, and you’ve been in a huge fight. You have to eat something, even if you need to force it.” Weiss grabbed Yang’s left hand and set a firm cake in it, “Have this first, something sweet might do you wonders.”

Yang looked like she was going to argue, even opening her mouth and taking in a breath to fuel her words. A sharp look from Weiss seemed to make her think twice, however, and she sighed instead, reaching up and taking a small bite of the cake. Then another. She cursed quietly under her breath and took a larger bite, “This is good.” She said reluctantly.

Weiss gave her a smug look and then turned to the rest of the ration bag, pulling the main course free and beginning to order the flat bread and meat spread into some semblance of edible bundle resembling a sandwich. When Yang’s cake was gone, Weiss passed her the flask, waited for her to take a drink, then replaced the flask with the sandwich.

Yang tried to glare at her, but the effect was ruined when she stuffed her mouth full with the offered food, “I can do it myself, you know?”

“Oh, I know you can, I just want to make sure you do.” Weiss’s haughty tone was met with an unflattering grumble about her heritage and rank. She scoffed, “We’re both Princesses, in case you forgot.”

Yang grunted and continued to eat every time Weiss shoved something into her hand until the whole ration bag had been emptied. With nothing to distract her after, though, she grew noticeably sullen, leaning back against Weiss’s trunk in a way that couldn’t have been comfortable, and looking away from them all. She pretended to be engrossed by the scenery, an aura of unwelcome surrounding her and preventing Weiss from striking up a conversation.

After a few minutes of silence, Weiss crawled back to her place and picked up her own lunch, slowly finishing it off. She didn’t like this silence, it hung heavy in the air, but she couldn’t think of any way to break it. Sure, they’d been silent before Yang had awoken, but it was companionable. This was just uncomfortable.

Luckily, it seemed even Yang thought so, because she finally spoke up, “What happened to them?” 

Weiss looked up and saw that Yang was staring at Ruby and Pyrrha. “I’m not sure of the details, but Pyrrha came to us with an arrow in her chest. Ruby was out cold. I suspect that her powers manifested and overwhelmed her.” Weiss remembered the brilliant white light she’d seen, it was really the only explanation.

She caught the way Yang reached out towards her sister with her stump, freezing when her brain caught up to the instinctive motion. Weiss didn’t think Yang would appreciate any attempt at comforting her, so she kept silent, feeling her heart clench at the look of pure agony on her face.

“The healers think they’ll be okay, though. They healed whatever physical damage had been done, so they should be waking soon.” Weiss continued, trying to be some kind of distraction from Yang’s pain. She wasn’t sure how well it worked, Yang’s expression smoothing to something that wasn’t quite neutral.

Silence fell on them again and Weiss nearly sighed when she realized that it probably wouldn’t be broken again.

 

________________

 

It wasn’t until they were at the next Valean camp that the prevailing quiet finally lifted. Despite her sullen countenance, Yang was reluctantly excited for a hot meal and it seemed to help her attitude quite a bit. Weiss felt more comfortable talking with Dominic and Klein, trying to include Yang but eventually deciding to respect her need to be alone. 

It was her turn to watch the wagon and she brought herself and Yang back a bowl of the chicken and dumplings from the camp, using her trunk as a makeshift table. No sooner had she hopped up into the wagon, however, did Pyrrha shift and groan, slowly coming awake. 

Weiss nearly knocked their bowls over in her haste to check on the redhead, pulling a flask of water open and kneeling by Pyrrha’s side as she slowly opened her eyes. Just like she had with Yang, Weiss helped Pyrrha sit up enough to take the drink, careful of any tender spots that might be lingering after the battle.

Pyrrha was a much better patient than Yang was, obediently drinking and even thanking Weiss softly. She took a moment to look at her surroundings as Weiss helped to prop her back against one of the bags behind her, “Where are we? What happened? Is Ruby okay?”

“We’re on our way to Vale, we’re at one of their camps. We evacuated the city two days ago. I’m not sure exactly what happened to Ruby, but I suspect her powers had something to do with it.” Weiss listed off, “Here, try to eat.” She handed her bowl over to Pyrrha, who took it gratefully and began taking small bites, “After you finish, I’d like to hear what happened to you.”

Pyrrha nodded and Weiss noticed that Yang was failing to look uninterested, slowly spooning the meal into her mouth with her left hand. Weiss excused herself quickly to go get another bowl of dinner, waving off Pyrrha’s apologies. When she came back, she paused, hearing Yang’s voice, trembling somewhere between anger and tears, “Just stop, alright?” 

She heard Pyrrha sigh and very softly say, “Okay. I’m sorry.” Weiss steeled herself as she approached, making sure her footsteps were plainly audible to them. There was an awkward air as she climbed into the wagon, but Weiss did her best to ignore that, setting down in her usual place and beginning to dig into her dinner.

“Do you mind telling us what happened, Pyrrha? You certainly gave us a scare, coming back full of arrows.” Weiss prodded, trying to change the subject away from wherever it had been.

Pyrrha took a slow, deep breath, then began to recount her side of the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She’d always been a very light sleeper and also very paranoid. Even in the luxurious palace, Pyrrha stacked up a small pile of metal plates against the door to act as an alarm system, should it be opened in the middle of the night. So it was the metallic clatter that woke her, sending her reaching for her shield and spear before she’d even fully realized what was happening.

A good thing, too, because her guest immediately charged towards her, silent, but with weapon raised, intending to jump on her before she was awake. The battle couldn’t even really be called that, it was over with one sure thrust from her spear.

Pyrrha paid the body no more mind after that, springing from her bed, still in her sleep garments, and running towards Ruby’s room, dread in her gut. It was as she feared, Ruby’s door stood open, the sounds of a struggle within, so she wasted no time in bursting into the room, shield at the ready.

Ruby and her assailant had their weapons locked together, Ruby’s scythe handle blocking the assassin’s dagger, but neither able to gain the upper hand. Pyrrha charged forward with a yell, bashing her shield into the man before he could even move, sending him to the ground. A decisive strike to his head before he could recover enough to retaliate crushed his skull with a sickening crack and he fell still.

“Ruby are you alright?” Pyrrha was by her side in an instant, desperate to make sure her friend and charge was unharmed. Her hands glided over Ruby’s pajama clad form, searching for injuries, relieved when she could find none.

“I’m fine, just shaken.” Ruby rested her hands on Pyrrha’s forearms, gaze intent, and Pyrrha realized she was also being looked over for injuries. Normally such behavior would have brought a smile to her face, but they were interrupted by a familiar, angry cry from across the hall, “Yang!”

They rushed out of Ruby’s bedroom in enough time to see a body come flying out of Yang’s room, impacting the wall with a loud thud and falling to the floor limply. At the same time, Blake’s door swung open and the faunus poked her head out, “Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah, I think so. Were we all attacked?” Ruby asked, voice trembling, but face serious. She was always like this during battle, willing to do what needed to be done, but not unaffected by it.   
Blake held up her sickle and chain, the blade dripping with blood. Before another word could be spoken, cries went up in different parts of the palace. Ruby wasted no time, “Get dressed, we need to help them.”

“I need to find Weiss.” Yang said exiting her room, already a step ahead of them. She was still pulling her gauntlets onto her arm, but she was fully dressed in her battle armor, furs lined with enforced leather. “I have a feeling we weren’t the only ones attacked and she was still weakened by what happened at the gate.”

Blake came to her side first and Pyrrha watched them check each other over, the same way she and Ruby had done. When she was satisfied by what she saw, Blake nodded, “Come find me when you’re finished.”

They split off at that moment, three going to their rooms to finish dressing, Pyrrha making sure to hastily pack her bag while she had the opportunity, then they were charging out of their rooms and into the fray. Screams from every which way sounded and it was decided they’d all split up to take care of what they could. 

Pyrrha ran towards the stairs, hearing a ruckus in the servants’ stairwell, finding a huge man with bear ears on his head, fighting off two guards and maid with a monkey tail. In one hand he held a short sword and in the other a glass jar with a red colored powder in it. The faunus woman was hanging on that arm, tail desperately wrapped around his hand and the jar, seeming to be trying to stop him from dropping it.

The four were on the stairs, the bear faunus slowly gaining ground upwards as his sword clashed heavily, but without finesse, against the guards’ blades. Pyrrha assessed the situation with a glance and charged forward, her spear entering the faunus man’s back, angling up under his ribs and piercing nearly through his body.

She pulled her weapon free from him with effort, hearing the wet, sucking sound of his wound releasing her spear, before jabbing it into him again. Without the momentum from her charge, it only sunk in about half as far, but it was all she needed. The faunus man began to visibly weaken, his grip on the jar and his sword faltering, until the monkey woman could rip the jar away and scramble to safety.

The bear finally fell, forcing Pyrrha to dodge backwards as he rolled down the stairs, dead. She looked up at the surprised guards, everything still for just a moment, before there was a burst of energy as they all came to action again.

“It looks like they’re trying to burn the place down, if you see anyone with a container of Dust like this, don’t let it hit the ground.” One of the men warned as they passed each other on their stairs, Pyrrha heading up and the three heading down.

“I understand, be safe!” She called, already listening out for more trouble on the floor above. The next floor didn’t immediately reveal any threats, but she heard shouting from farther above, echoing down the narrow staircase. 

Bursting out onto the floor, she found a tiny form huddled on the ground while two maids beat at it relentlessly with brooms. Nearby, a guard holding one of those jars was looking on, bemused. Pyrrha approached him with a raised eyebrow, question clear.

“I think we got this under control. Those of us who are loyal don’t appreciate people trying to destroy our home.” The guard said solemnly, nodding at her in acknowledgment.

Free to move on, Pyrrha headed back to the stairs, coming up to the next floor to have a look around. No sooner did she move out of the staircase, however, did she hear a giant explosion and the sound of stones falling to the ground. It sounded close, so she went to investigate, but there wasn’t a window facing the direction of the sound nearby. Before she could get to one, three more explosions occurred, from other parts of the city.

She couldn’t begin to guess what the significance was, but she knew that it couldn’t be good. Racing to the stairs, Pyrrha intended to head back down, but a crash and a shriek caught her attention. Turning back around, she saw a beast in the hall behind her, wings like a bird, but the body was as if someone drew a horse from her nightmares.

Pyrrha was shocked for a moment, because she’d never seen anything like it, but then the creature roared at her, a terrible noise that reverberated through her chest. She brought her shield up on instinct, watching the creature charge, holding her ground until it was close. She dove forward into a roll, under the creature’s head and around its side, bracing her spear across her chest and stabbing it into the beast, drawing it painfully through the flesh as she moved behind it.

She turned and stood up, jabbing her spear into the creature’s flank as it roared in outrage. She held her shield firm, watching it’s hind leg tense, then kick out behind itself hard, impacting the metal. With practiced ease, she shrugged her shoulder and redirected the force of the impact to the side, sparing herself quite a bit of pain and allowing herself an opening to continue to stab the creature.

Frustrated, the beast roared again and began to turn, Pyrrha taking advantage as it presented its side to her, jamming her weapon into its chest over and over again. In the cramped hallway, the beast stood no chance, unable to find enough space enough to let loose powerful attacks or maneuver its large body. It was like stabbing fish in a barrel and the creature hadn’t turned halfway before it slumped over, dead.

Still, Pyrrha was panting a bit; the creature’s skin was tough and, though she was fast and strong, it still took many blows before it was felled. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to rest, she could hear more windows breaking on the other floors as other creatures infilitrated the palace.

The next few minutes passed like hours, she ran down the stairs to take care of a wolf like creature on the floor below, then up two flights to kill another winged horse monster and a bird beast that had an injured guard cornered. Leaning against the wall during a brief moment of respite, Pyrrha sighed; she was worried about Ruby and the situation and it felt like there was an icy hand squeezing her heart.

As though summoned by her thoughts, Pyrrha heard a familiar voice cry, “Come back here!” Her head snapped towards the open door to the servant stairwell just in time to see Ruby, large weapon trailing behind her in the confined space, charging up the stairs.

She didn’t even need to think, Pyrrha pursued her charge as quickly as she could. Her legs burned as they pushed her up step after step, listening to Ruby’s shouts echo against the stone walls. She realized belatedly that they were heading up into one of the palace’s towers, the neat square design of the well melding into a continuous circle. She forced herself to breathe deeply, trying to avoid becoming winded, hearing Ruby’s yelling begin to fade as the effort to speak became harder the higher they went.

Eventually, after effort turned to agony for her abused muscles, the stairs flattened into a landing, spreading out quite suddenly into a huge, round room. Pyrrha realized they were at the top of the tower, the space used as some kind of observatory, with two huge telescopes anchored into the stonework opposite each other. There were several other telescopes of varying sizes throughout the room, all much more portable, ready to be set at any of the floor to ceiling windows that replaced the walls entirely.

The center of the room held tables, chairs, and couches, as well as a few plants to add color, arranged in such a way to bring attention to the mural of the world laid in colored tiled on the floor. It was impressive and detailed, rivaled only by the painting of the constellations on the ceiling. At another time, Pyrrha might have been fascinated by the beauty of it all, right now, she was focused on the woman in a red dress standing in the middle of the room, setting down a box of crystals.

Ruby was panting hard at the top of the stairs and Pyrrha cautiously took a place slightly behind her and to the right. Ruby was left handed and if they were going to fight, she’d need room to swing her scythe. 

“I don’t know what you’re planning,” Ruby finally managed to get out, once she stopped gasping for breath, “But I’m going to stop you.”

“It’s far too late to stop us. Atlas is doomed and, soon, so will be the rest of the world.” The woman put her foot on the box and tipping it over slowly, letting the crystals fall over onto the tile. Most were about the same size, but there was one that was huge, easily three times larger than the rest, and the woman bent to reach for that one.

Pyrrha had no idea what they were, but she just knew that letting the woman touch them was a bad idea. With a swift motion, she tossed her shield like a discus, angling it so that it would catch the air and curve sharply upwards. The woman backflipped, just barely dodging the projectile as it shot towards her head, her pretty face contorted in an expression of fury. From seemingly nowhere, she pulled out a huge, crystalline bow that looked like it should be either too fragile or too rigid to use properly. 

However, the woman easily drew back on a string made of light and three arrows appeared as if burned into existence. As Pyrrha heard her shield bounce off the stonework, she realized that it wouldn’t return to her fast enough to be able to block the incoming danger. “Move!” She shouted to Ruby, diving back down the stairs with a painful thud, seeing her charge scramble the other way. She was barely clear before hearing the arrows thunk into the stone where they’d just been.

She was on her feet in an instant, but it was plenty of time for the woman to have lunged for two of the smaller crystals. As Pyrrha picked up her shield from where it landed at the top of the stairs; the woman waved the crystals and two black ritual circles appear on the ground. The runes around the edges lit up as the power activated and two large creatures rose up in front of her and Ruby.

It was a distraction, Pyrrha realized, jumping to the side as a huge bear like paw swiped at her. It was a damn good distraction, but Pyrrha wasn’t so bad herself. She saw the woman dart towards the large crystal again and sent her shield hurtling towards her. She had to turn back to the monster almost immediately, jabbing her spear a few times to keep it at bay, but she heard the result of her attack.

The woman let out a curse and there was the sound of metal striking, and breaking, tile, then crystal skittering across the ground. Pyrrha flipped towards the center of the room, reaching out to swing her weapon at the woman and force her to dodge away. Her shield came down from where it had bounced and Pyrrha reached out to catch it.

“I got it!” Ruby called from across the room and a spared glance showed her bracing her scythe handle under her arm, hand occupied with the large crystal. She was battling a wolf beast, twisting her scythe with precision, even one handed, and managing to scrape her blade against the creature.

There was a cry of anger from the woman and a yelp from Ruby, but Pyrrha wasn’t able to look over as the bear monster lunged at her and she lifted her shield to try and redirect the blow. She just had to trust that Ruby wasn’t seriously injured because the beast was taking all of her concentration at the moment, following up its lunge with several brutal and wild claw swipes. She twisted hard as she felt the heavy weight connect with her shield and sent the creature overextending itself, following up with a vicious jab right under the arm she’d moved aside.

She must have struck it’s heart, because the creature gave a grunt and immediately keeled over, beginning to fade away to ash. Just in time, too, because she heard Ruby cry out, “Pyrrha, catch!”

She whipped her head around and saw the large crystal flying at her, reaching up to snag it from the air with an ease born of years of practice with her shield. The woman in red did not look amused, charging away from Ruby and back to where the smaller crystals lay, “Fine? You want to play it that way?” 

Pyrrha tried to throw her shield to stop her, but the woman expected it, dodging to the side and scooping down to pick three of the crystals from the ground. A quick wave had three more monsters summoned right around Ruby, Pyrrha watching in horror as they surrounded the smaller girl.

She didn’t have much time to contemplate Ruby, however, as the woman turned to her, eyes narrowed with hatred, “Give me that and I’ll make your death quick.”

Pyrrha shook her head, clutching the crystal tight in her left hand, “If we’re to do battle, may I at least have your name?” She was stalling, circling casually around the woman towards where her shield had fallen.

“Not that it’ll matter in the next few minutes, but I’m Cinder Fall.” Giving a mocking bow, Cinder held out a hand and it was encased in fire, “And you lost your chance at mercy!” 

With a shout, she thrust her hand forward and a burst of flame erupted towards Pyrrha, who frantically rolled towards her shield. She could feel the heat licking her feet, her metal armor heating up when she couldn’t quite get clear. She dove at her shield, picking it up and turning just in time to raise it to block the oncoming attack.

The flames streamed around her and Pyrrha instantly felt its effects on her shield; she needed to move or risk it melting right on her arm. Surging forward, Pyrrha charged at her assailant, braving the fire in an attempt to bash her with the now superheated shield. Cinder was quick, spinning to Pyrrha’s left and away from her main hand, but it didn’t matter, she was ready.

Her charge had interrupted Cinder’s casting, so Pyrrha was free to move her shield, swinging it hard at the woman and forcing her to take a quick step backwards. She followed it with a slice of her spear, Cinder moving back again, but this time with less steady footing, then surged towards her with quick jabs.

She couldn’t let up and give Cinder the chance to cast again, one of those fire blasts would be devastating. It seemed like Cinder realized her plan, hunching down and focusing on defense while she searched for an opening. Pyrrha was determined not to give her one, but on a backhand swing of her spear, Cinder didn’t move away. Instead, the spearhead was caught in a faintly glowing hand, halting her movement.

It must have been a protection spell that kept her from being sliced, but it was effective in stopping Pyrrha short. She saw the plan in her opponents eyes, just a moment before a fire wreathed hand came between them, palm pointed towards Pyrrha’s chest. She felt her eyes widen in panic, struggling to bring her shield up.

She managed, barely, but the force of the fireball ripped her spear from her grip as she flew backwards, hitting the wall with bone crushing power. Her shield and the crystal fell from numb fingers as the wind was well and truly knocked out of her, her gasping efforts to refill her lungs making her back ache. Surely her ribs were severely bruised, if not outright broken.

Looking up, Pyrrha found her opponent, a smirk on her face as she drew back on her bow, killing intent clear on her face. Self preservation had Pyrrha surging forward weakly, grabbing her trusty shield in fumbling fingers and holding it up just as the arrow loosed. As if in slow motion, she saw the arrow streaking towards her, glowing red with magic, on course for impact with her shield. Then, impossibly, it struck her shield and went through it, the magic burning a hole right into the thick metal.

The arrow’s momentum carried it through her armor and allowed it to embed itself in her chest, just above her heart. Pyrrha looked up as Cinder sauntered forward, a smirk on her face, reaching down to grab the discarded crystal that was her prize.

“Don’t feel bad, you fought valiantly.” Cinder gloated, reaching a hand out towards her as Pyrrha struggled to rise. The arrow flared with a sudden heat that made her cry out in pain and she fell back against the wall. “But this is bigger than you and we were always going to win!”

Cinder held the crystal out, pointed towards the center of the room and a huge ritual circle appeared, a monstrous head peeking out as it slowly formed, clawing as if to pull itself from some depths. It was the arrow that had her attention, though, the pain being unlike anything she’d ever felt before. 

All she could do was scream and scream.

She barely heard Ruby’s voice above her own, “PYRRHA!” and then everything went white.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And then I woke up here.” Pyrrha concluded, hand resting above her heart gingerly in remembered pain.

The wagon fell into silence as Yang and Weiss regarded her in various states of awe. She was a great storyteller and Weiss couldn’t recall having spoken ten words to her before now. 

“Wow. That sounds like quite the ordeal.” Weiss murmured, watching Pyrrha rest back against the bags, “But it actually explain a lot. The crystals are called Keys, they hold a magic spell. Bigger crystal, bigger spell. That explains how they got into the city so fast, send their infiltrators with keys and…” She trailed off, but they all knew what she meant. They’d seen it after all.

“What about you, Yang?” Pyrrha tried gently and Weiss watched Yang tense up sharply. She sent a glare towards Pyrrha that seemed to convey more than just a desire to not talk about it. Weiss had to wonder if this was what they were arguing about before she came back.

Yang gave an aggravated sigh, “Fought some creatures, fought some White Fang, Blake got stabbed, I got my arm cut off. Happy?”

“And where is Blake?” Pyrrha ventured quietly, making Weiss wince. Even she could tell this wasn’t a pleasant line of questioning and she had to wonder why Pyrrha kept pushing. If she was hoping that talking about it would comfort Yang, she was most likely mistaken.

“Gone! Alright, she’s gone!” Yang snapped and Weiss was shocked to see her eyes burning red, “What do you want, Pyrrha?! She left! She ran! I failed her and she left me!”

“You didn’t fail-” Pyrrha tried gently, only to be cut off.

“Shut up! Shut! Up!” For a moment, Weiss thought Yang was going to reach over and punch Pyrrha, so she set her hand on the barbarian’s shoulder, only to pull back in alarm. Even through her furs, she was hot, abnormally so. “Perfect girl!” Yang spat, watching Pyrrha flinch, “With your perfect life! What would you even know!?”

Was it just Weiss or was Yang’s hair starting to glow?

Either way, she needed to put a stop to this, “Yang, enough.” She said firmly, that eerie red gaze turning to her, “Pyrrha was just worried about you. Ah ah!” She said when Yang opened her mouth to argue, “Shush or I’ll dump water on your head.” That seemed to do the trick and Yang gave a huff, turning her face away.

“And you.” She rounded on Pyrrha, would looked surprised and guilty, “Don’t push where you’re not wanted.” Those impossibly green eyes fell to her lap in shame. “You guys are friends and you’re going to apologize to each other.”

Both seemed appropriately shamed at being spoken to like errant children, but it was Pyrrha that caved first and almost instantly, “I’m sorry, Yang and I’m sorry I pried.”

After a hesitant moment, there came a quiet, “I’m sorry, too.” Yang turned her head back to them and Weiss could see her eyes were back to the lovely purple hue they were normally. Her voice was small and unusually serious when she said, “And I know your life wasn’t perfect. That was a low blow.”

It was quiet for a few moments, awkwardly so, before Weiss said, exasperated, “And all was forgiven. I swear, I didn’t sign up to babysit. Especially since you’re both older than I am.” Rather than being further shamed, both girls actually chuckled a bit.

“Well, you’re doing a good job.” Pyrrha said earnestly and Weiss felt her face heat up. That just wasn’t fair.

“Well, of course I am.” She affected a haughty air, “After all, you’re far more mature than the council members and nobility I regularly dealt with. Why, there was this one time...” Weiss leaned back against the side of the wagon intent on keeping things from falling to despair as she began her story. It wasn’t what she was used to, but if it fell to her to keep up everyone’s spirits, then she would tackle the task with everything she had.

 

_____________________

 

The next night found Weiss wandering through the Valean camp aimlessly; she’d recovered and adapted well over the past few days. She got used to bathing in bodies of water, had gotten faster at her routine, and she didn’t feel like collapsing into a cot every night as soon as they came into camp. So she had free time now, between bathing and sleeping, that let her wander or do whatever it was that she wanted.

She supposed she could find Pyrrha for some company, the other woman had felt good enough today to leave the wagon and walk around. Weiss suspected that she just hated being so still all day and that she was wandering just as aimlessly. Ultimately, she decided not to seek her out; Pyrrha surely had many things to think about, not the least of which was her charge that still lay unconscious in the wagon.

After the brief laugh Weiss had gotten from her betrothed the night before, Yang had remained unmoved by all manner of story or joke Weiss and the rest of her company could come up with. They were all worried about her, even Dominic, who had never met Yang before now. They were all also worried about Ruby.

The healers all said she was physically fine, by all rights, she should have been the first to awaken. Yet still she slept. No one wanted to entertain the thought that she might never wake up.

Shaking her head to rid herself of depressing thoughts, Weiss looked up to take in the camp. Despite the circumstances, everyone seemed in good spirits, sitting around the many fires and telling stories or laughing. She guessed many were in the large tents sleeping in cots, tired after a long journey, but she couldn’t hear any crying or screaming. 

There had been some of that at the first camp, either from the injured or traumatized, but those people, had stayed behind to be cared for, unable to travel as they were, or had adapted as she had. She was glad for it, that her people seemed strong enough to continue on, even in the face of such adversity.

A tug on her sleeve had her looking away from the nearby gathering of people and Weiss realized that there was a child trying to get her attention. A little girl with mousy brown hair in a tattered outfit and holding onto a slightly charred doll looked up at her with too blue eyes. “You’re pretty.” The girl told her, with all the tact someone her age could muster.

It cheered Weiss and she kneeled with a smile to better get on the girl’s level, “Why thank you. You’re pretty, too” She told the girl matter of factly, reaching out to wipe away a smudge of dirt across her nose.

The girl giggled at her, face flushing at the compliment, “Aren’t you the princess?”

Weiss hesitated for a moment, was she? Could she still call herself a princess with no kingdom or land? She honestly wasn’t sure, but such nuance would be lost on a child, so instead she smiled, “Yes, I am.”

“I wanna be a princess, too!” The girl exclaimed, “I wanna wear pretty dresses and go to balls and meet a handsome prince.” She clasped her hands under her chin and twirled around in excitement.

Chuckling, Weiss patted the girl on the head, “Being a princess is tough work.” She hummed thoughtfully, hand coming to her chin, “But you seem like a strong girl, I bet you could do it.” She winked at the girl, eliciting a giggle.

“I guess you gotta protect your people, huh? My daddy said he wasn’t sure you would be a good princess, but then he saw you lift that gate and help all those people and said you turned out good. He said it was really neat and it made me wanna be just like you when I grow up.” With all the honesty of a child, the girl babbled and Weiss tried not to let herself appear uncomfortable.

She really hadn’t been good to her people, hadn’t heard any grievances, hadn’t met with them or talked with them. Now, they were all scattered and headed to a strange land. Could she even help anyone at this point? Was there even a point if she was really a princess in name only?

Weiss looked again at this little girl, her eyes full of hope and awe, words of dreams for the future falling from her mouth. Then she looked around at the camp, tents filled with her people, fire pits surrounded by her people. Her people all walking around. They were all doing their best, it was she that needed to be worthy of them.

Finally she turned back to the girl and smiled, “Thank you, but I hope that someday you become better than me. If there’s anything I want you to remember, it’s that you should always try to be a better person than the person you were the day before. Now, it’s getting late and I think you should be in bed. Tell me where your tent is and I’ll walk you there.”

After that, Weiss thought that she might go join some people sitting around the fires and talk, see if there was anything she could do to help them. It was never too late to start to get to know her people.

 

______________________

 

Weiss spent the rest of the night talking to as many people as she could and didn’t get into bed until very late. She felt good, though she didn’t think she did all that much to help, she had brought a blanket or two and some water to people that needed a bit more. The best part of the night was just how grateful everyone seemed to have someone listen to them. They said thank you and called her ‘Your Highness’ with actual respect, rather than just out of habit.

She’d tried to do much the same in the morning before they left, which was made easier by Klein and Pyrrha volunteering to help her. By the time they were crawling into the back of the wagon, Weiss was satisfied and exhausted, dozing as the wagon swayed back and forth. She was really only half asleep, listening to Pyrrha and Klein chat a bit as comforting background noise.

She got up at lunch time and joined them in conversation while they all ate and after they were finished. It seemed like it was going to be an uneventful day with shallow, pleasing chatter for company. Yang didn’t really join them and they gave her as much space as she asked for, but Weiss could see how she occasionally shot worried glances at her still slumbering sister.

They always checked Ruby in with a healer whenever they arrived at a new camp and the answer was always the same thing. By all rights, she should be awake, there was nothing wrong with her.

Weiss wasn’t as versed in healing magic as some dedicated mages were, but she still spent a few minutes going over Ruby with her magic. The only reason she could think of she hoped wasn’t true. Magic exhaustion, like the kind she’d had her brush with, often did major damage to a person’s brain. If the damage set in before a healer got to her, it may appear that she was fine when, by all rights, she may never wake up again.

Weiss decided to keep this to herself, for now, not wanting to upset anyone while they were still on their long ride back to Vale. They were expected to reach the border in just a few more days, once they got into the kingdom, then she’d bring it up. Until then, she fully intended on concentrating on helping her people as much as possible.

Weiss found herself waiting in a state of anticipation as they traveled, counting down the hours until they got to the next camp. And once they were there, she could barely contain her excitement, being the first to hop down from the wagon. The feeling she got from helping, from working, from being useful and needed, it was addicting, in a way. She was making a difference and it made her feel good.

Hurrying to eat and bathe, Weiss set out to talk to as many people as she could. There were even a few that came to seek her out, thrilling her to no end, and Klein joined her as he had that morning to attend to whatever it was that he could. Even though there wasn’t much Weiss could do for anyone in a large way, they all thanked her and seemed truly grateful. 

It felt like enough, like she wasn’t leaving these people to be forgotten.

Unfortunately, not all the attention she was getting was good. It was very late by the time she finally decided to turn in, unable to hold in her yawns, and she excused herself from the campfire, where a few men still sat around chatting. Klein had decided to retire a couple hours before, so it was just her as she traveled away from the bright lights of the fires and cut between two supply tents to get to where they had decided to bed down.

She hadn’t taken two steps down the small path before three men stepped around the corner to block her way forward. Weiss halted, feeling a spike of danger, before turning her head to look behind her. Two more men stood at the mouth of the path from the way she came, keeping her from being able to escape. 

Weiss took a deep breath, letting her right hand brush against Myrtenaster’s familiar blade, reminding her that she was no delicate flower. She was a honed edge and she would not be intimidated, “Good evening.” She called out to the three in front of her.

“Evening, your highness.” The man in the middle, smaller than the two flanking him, said sardonically, with a mocking bow. The group was a mix of faunus and humans, but all had ragged, dirty clothes, suggesting poverty.

“Is there something I can do to help you?” She ventured, keeping her voice level and nonchalant.

“Help? You think you can help us now? Our homes are gone, our families and friends have been killed. You think passing out a few warm blankets is gonna make up for that and what your whole damn family has put us through? What your father put us through?” The man snarled, keeping his voice low and menacing.

“I’m not my father.” Weiss hissed, feeling anger spike at just the mention of him. She took a breath to calm herself, “And while I seriously doubt that a few warm blankets will change the fact that our kingdom is at the mercy of foreign invaders, I hope that it will help my people begin to trust me. To believe that I do want to make things better or, at least, as good as they can get in these circumstances.”

“The poison apple doesn’t fall far from the tainted tree.” The man snapped back, “And it’s too little, too late for any of us to put our trust in a Schnee.”

Weiss shook her head, “‘Too little too late’? I don’t believe in that. Saying that means that you don’t have a hope for the future or in people. It means you don’t believe that people can change. And they can.” She had changed so much in just a couple weeks.

Weiss let her thoughts drift to the Valean entourage, how she’d seen them as savages and, while she hadn’t thought him infallible, she had believed in her father as a fair and intelligent man. Now, sitting in a Valean refugee camp and with her father nowhere in sight, she knew it was the opposite. 

Even with her views on faunus, things had changed. Blake began everything with her story and it had driven Weiss to learn more; and she had, through Cherry and through the ones she’d talked to here. Sometimes she still tensed when a faunus made a sudden move near her, but Weiss was confident that she’d train herself out of it eventually.

Coming back to the present, Weiss gave the man a determined look, “We’re in a terrible situation; our home is lost, we’re displaced and mourning. It feels like the end,” She shook her head, voice dropping a bit, trying to convey her sincerity, “But it isn’t. You may not believe in me, but I believe in you. I believe in all our people, because we are Atlesian and no matter how cold the winter, we never give up.”

The man was silent and Weiss could see him contemplating her words. His friends shifted uncertainly, glancing between her and the silent man, and Weiss hoped that they wouldn’t make a move without his say. If she could just get through to him, if she could get just one person on her side it would feel like a victory. They all held a lot of anger and pain and she was a convenient scapegoat.

Please, she begged inside her head, let them be able to put that aside. Let them believe her. Weiss held her breath as the man searched her face, hoping that she looked sincere. Finally, his shoulders relaxed and he gave a little smile.

“That was really corny, but you really think that.” He breathed, “I can tell you do.”

“I do.” She said imploringly, breath coming out in a rush, “I believe in my people. I know that I’m not perfect, either. I haven’t been a good princess, but I know I can do better and I want to. I just need a chance.”

She locked eyes with the man, begging him silently to trust her. The quiet stretched again, beginning to worry her, before he nodded, “Alright Princess. Your Highness,” He corrected himself, “You have it.”

Weiss beamed, relieved, “I won’t let you down.”

Stepping aside to let her through, the man smiled back, “I believe you.”


	10. A Long Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovery is never easy, but it helps if you have a friend.

She was surrounded by fire, the stone floor broken and jagged, ashes falling around her. Despite flames licking at her back, she felt no heat. In fact, she was abnormally cold, and Yang realized she was naked. No armor or furs to protect her. Her arms came up to try and cover herself, wrapping around her middle in an attempt at keeping the heat in.

Footsteps had her snapping her head up, seeing a tall, menacing figure at the other end of the hall, hair glowing red like the eyes of the creatures she’d been killing earlier. In contrast to that vibrant radiance, two sharp, black horns jutted out from his hairline. Fear gripped her heart like a vice, keeping her feet rooted to the ground as he stalked ever closer.

She wanted to fight back, but she was so scared, all she could do was shiver as each step brought him towards her defenseless form. A voice like a demon echoed around her; even though his mouth never moved from the vicious smirk, she knew it was him.

“She’s mine.” He taunted, drawing nearer, echoing the words she'd heard him growl in that place, “You can never have her because she’ll always be mine. She can never escape me and you can never protect her. You can’t even protect yourself. And she’ll be mine forever, no matter how much she doesn’t want to be.” He stopped, just within arms length of her and Yang raised her fists.

No, her fist, she was missing one.

He laughed, deep and terrifying and Yang lashed out with a left hook, but it passed through him harmlessly. She couldn’t hurt him; she looked down at her hand in shock, then back at him. She couldn’t see his eyes through his mask, but she didn’t need to, she could sense his hatred and cruelty.

His hands came to his sword, one gripping the sheath and the other on the handle. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she realized that she couldn’t hurt him, but he could definitely hurt her. The blade made a sharp metallic sound when he pulled it free.

Yang nearly screamed as she sat up straight in her bed.

Panting hard, Yang felt her panic transform into frustration, slamming her fist into the bed. Her left fist, of course, because her right arm was gone. She’d been having nightmares about it for the past four weeks, ever since she’d come back to Vale. Strangely enough, they hadn’t started until days after the Fall of Atlas, but Yang wasn’t sure if it was shock that kept them at bay or they were just unleashed once she got back to her familiar childhood home.

Throwing her covers back, she sighed and turned to look out the window. Vibrant green trees met her sight, her window overlooking the front path up to her home. Rather, her father’s home, Yang’s home had always been the many inns or tents she’d used while out in the world, either exploring, training, or working. She hadn’t lived in the cabin her father had built since her Coming of Age when she was twelve.

Now she was back, just like a child, unable to handle the real world.

Yang clenched the linen of her bed sheets in a fist, fighting back the wave of self loathing. She needed to stop that train of thought before she did something embarrassing, like crying. Instead, she took a breath and focused her gaze back out the window. Movement caught her eye as a slight figure walked up the path towards her home, blue eyes focused on a scroll in her hands.

That was certainly a difference from her childhood, the Princess of Atlas taking up space in a room down the hall. If Weiss was back, that meant she only had a few more minutes until her peace was shattered. Flopping back down onto her with an aggravated sigh, Yang turned her back to the door and pulled her sheets up to her neck. 

It wasn’t like it would help her in the long run, it had been three days since her last bath and Weiss would be up here, without fail, to drag her to the tub. No doubt it was filled earlier with boiling water and Weiss had used to time while it cooled to do some chores. 

Part wife, part nurse, and part maid, Weiss had been a whirlwind of activity since she’d come to live with Yang and her father. Yang wasn’t even certain the Atlesian slept, since every time Yang saw her, she was doing something. Then again, Yang had also been sleeping a lot more than she normally had, between her injury and just feeling generally bad.

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Yang steeled herself. She would not do what Weiss said today. She would fight back, she would win time to lay here in bed and do nothing. She was not going to be ordered around any longer.

Her bedroom door opened with a loud slam, the way it did every time. She knew Weiss did it on purpose, in part to annoy her because she was being such a difficult patient, and one day Yang swore she was going to set something heavy in front of it to give Weiss a nasty shock when she tried to come in.

“Good morning, Yang.” Weiss said like it was an announcement. Yang grunted at her in displeasure, “Time to get up and get a bath.”

“No.” Yang said stubbornly, clutching the linen tighter around her. There was a loud sigh behind her.

“Yes, now come on. Don’t make me drag you out of bed.” Weiss threatened and Yang knew she could and would do it. She had the first two times she’d done this, but Yang was not feeling it this morning.

“You and what army?” she grumbled petulantly. She heard Weiss stomp her foot and take two steps closer, then her sheet was ripped from her grasp.

Now without a covering, Yang said upright in bed with a jerk, glaring at Weiss stubbornly, as she spoke, “You know I’m my own army when it comes to you. Don’t make me glyph you.” Yang brought her knees up, arm wrapping around them tightly, as though she could possibly stop magic. “Stop fighting me, Yang, you know I’m going to win.”

“I just want to be left alone.” Yang protested, hating how much she sounded like she was pouting.

“Not today. Today you are going to get clean and go downstairs so I can change your sheets.” Weiss put her hands on her hips, “Now, come here.” When Yang still didn’t move, she stomped her foot again, “Yang!”

Letting out a long, loud sigh, Yang rolled her eyes and made sure Weiss was looking. Then she _slowly_ stretched her legs out, _slowly_ turned her body, and _slowly_ put her feet on the floor. She may have been defeated, but she was still going to let her displeasure be known. The way Weiss was glaring at her made her feel a little warmer, satisfaction settling in her chest. She wasn’t totally without claws, after all.

Dragging her feet the whole way, Yang allowed Weiss to guide her to the bathroom where, as she predicted, the tub was already full of steaming water. She stood for a moment, aware that she was just in her underclothes and was about to be in nothing at all, just like her dream, while Weiss was in her modified Atlesian dress.

“I can bathe myself, you know.” She grumbled when Weiss turned her back so she could undress.

“Can you?” was the sardonic and familiar reply. This was practically a script for them at this point, dialogue fading as she slipped into the water, dunking her head to let her hair get wet.

The first time Weiss dragged her to the bath, she’d been left alone and hadn’t been able to wash her hair properly. After Weiss found shampoo still in her long hair, she’d started staying with her to help. It certainly hadn’t been appreciated at first, since Yang despised having other people touch her hair, but now it was. In a way.

Hearing Weiss kneeling behind her and feeling small fingers begin to work shampoo into her hair, Yang sighed. She both hated and loved it, it was probably the best feeling in the world outside of actual sex. So few people touched her head that Yang hadn’t realized how sensitive it was until someone else was practically massaging her scalp.

It was comforting, but Yang wanted to be upset, she wanted to feel bad. Being with Weiss like this made it almost impossible. Against her will, Yang began to relax.

“You’re always so grumpy after a nightmare.” Weiss said, an indeterminate amount of time later, startling her from the light doze she’d fallen into. Her muscles seized almost painfully as she went from relaxed to tense in a second.

“How’d you know?” Yang asked, voice small. This wasn’t part of the script and she wasn’t sure where it was going.

“Why do you think I change your sheets every three days? Even now I can see where you’ve been sweating, your chest wrap is soaked. More than that…” Weiss paused, voice dropping to a whisper, “I hear you, sometimes. I also know that it’s not just that you’re grumpy after sleep or in the morning, since I did know you for a little before this. So it’s what makes the most sense.”

Yang stayed quiet and, after a minute, Weiss gently tilted her head back so that she could wash the soap from her hair. She had a good view of the smaller woman’s face, though upside down, and noticed her cheeks were red. She almost wanted to talk about it, the quiet and sincere moment making her feel calm.

She swallowed hard, letting the words die before she could open her mouth. Finally Weiss motioned for her to sit up straight again and Yang saw her arm reach for a pair of tweezers on a nearly stool. “Ah, Weiss?” The hand paused and Yang continued, “I don’t like being plucked, I prefer the torch.”

While she very much appreciated the fact that plucking lasted much longer than burning, the amount of pain was greatly reduced with the latter. However, when they’d tried that last, Yang had been even less cooperative and Weiss had no idea what she was doing. It had been a disaster, but the burn had healed quickly.

“Yes, well… We know I’m not very good at that.” Weiss admitted quietly, but Yang saw the hand retract.

“I can do it.” Yang said, surprised at herself. In the four weeks since she’d been home, she hadn’t once felt like doing more than laying in bed. Weiss had been dragging her around for a reason, assuming a great deal of control over her and taking care of things that were necessary, but that Yang just couldn’t find the energy to do. Hence why plucking was even needed, since they both hated the feeling of stubbly body hair and Weiss had decided that Yang shouldn’t have to put up with it if she didn’t want to.

Weiss seemed just as surprised, Yang catching a little hitch in her breath before she hesitantly said, “Tell me what you need.”

“Light the torch and hold my hair back.” Weiss scrambled to do that before Yang even added the little, “Please.” as her afterthought.

Quietly, Weiss obliged, handing the small torch to her with a healthy amount of respect, then moving behind her to keep her hair clear. It took some maneuvering and awkward posing and plenty of blushing whenever she caught Weiss’s eye over her shoulder, but eventually, Yang slid back into the water, dipping the torch to extinguish it.

Oddly enough, she felt good, probably the best she’d felt since Atlas. There was a sense of pride in having accomplished something that, once simple, was now a chore. Belatedly, Weiss let go of her hair and Yang felt the heavy, wet strands fall back around her neck and shoulders. The bathroom was dead silent, so Yang heard it when Weiss took a breath, as though to speak, but then ended up saying nothing.

Instead, she continued with their routine, reaching out to grab a washcloth and soap it up. Yang had trouble washing her left arm and some parts of her back, so Weiss would help with that and then leave her to finish, going off to fix breakfast while Yang struggled to dress. That had been where Yang adamantly drew the line, the bathing was humiliating enough, but something about letting Weiss dress her like she was a doll was even worse.

It had taken a screaming match before Weiss had relented on that one and they hadn’t spoken to each other for nearly a week. Now they were more or less used to each other, so true arguments were few and far between, but they still sniped and snarked at each other constantly. Yang couldn’t find it in her to be truly upset at Weiss, a part of her knew the other girl was just trying to help, but it was so damn frustrating. 

She wanted to be sad, she wanted to mourn her losses, she had lost a part of herself in more ways than one and would never get it back, she wasn’t ready to try and move on yet. Her arm, her fighting prowess, Blake. Furthermore, as much as she hated to admit it, she was afraid. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to and she didn’t know how to cope with it. Her pride wouldn’t let her seek help, certainly not from an outsider.

Maybe she would have talked to Ruby eventually, but her sister, ever the hero, had left in search of the enemy. At least Ruby had come to say goodbye, trying to convince Yang to come with her. She’d sounded so small and Yang felt a wave of guilt and self loathing wash over her at the memory of how she’d treated Ruby before she left.

“Yang, are you okay?” Weiss’s question startled Yang, she’d been so lost in thought, she’d nearly forgotten where she was. “I called your name twice.” Weiss added hesitantly.

“I’m fine.” Yang replied automatically and way too quick and defensively. She winced at her own tone.

Weiss fell silent for a moment, then sighed and shifted around the side of the tub so she could look Yang in the face, “I’ve tried to give you space, but I’m really worried about you. Not because of what you’ve lost, but because of how you’ve reacted to it.” Yang turned her head away, she didn’t want to see the sincerity in Weiss’s eyes, “Nightmares are to be expected, but it’s like you’re actively fighting against getting well.”

“Well excuse me, Princess, if I’m not healing fast enough for your liking.” Yang grumbled, crossing her arms tightly. Her neck ached with all the tension in it, feeling trapped in this tub as effectively as if she were caged.

Weiss huffed, “That’s not what I meant and you know it. There are options for people in your situation. I’m a mage, I may not be able to grow your arm back, but I can weave spells that will give you back almost full mobility. You want an arm made of fire? I can do that.”

Yang frowned at the attempt at levity, “That’s not the point. It’ll never be as good as the real thing and my life will never be what it once was.”

“Is this really about your arm or is it about Blake?” Weiss’s voice was soft, but her words might as well have been a spear through her gut. Yang couldn’t keep from gasping noisily, clenching her teeth together sharply to try and prevent it, but she knew Weiss heard. “You loved her.”

Of course she had, how could she not have loved Blake? Ever since they first met it had felt like that was her entire reason for being, she was put on this earth to find her other half in Blake Belladonna. Yang remembered when they first met and it had felt like supreme serendipity; it had only been through a series of coincidental events that she’d even been at the right place to meet the down on her luck faunus.

She’d been on the far side of Vale for a festival that was only held every harvest blood moon, which hadn’t happened in fourteen years by that point. A pickpocket had sent her on a mad chase through the nearly deserted merchant quarter of the village and she’d seen that the man was headed for the docks. However, a runaway horse drawn cart had sent him veering towards the outskirts of town towards the river that bordered the town on the east..

When Yang had chased him across the bridge, shouting at him to give back her purse, there’d been Blake, emerging from the shadows like a vengeful spirit and knocking the man out cold. She’d been dirty and ragged, obviously having been living under that very bridge, but Yang had never been more awed by someone.

She offered to buy Blake food as a reward for helping and that was history. They’d been together ever since.

Weiss must have taken her silence for confirmation, because she sighed softly, “I’m sorry. There you were, betrothed to me and in love with another.”

“Blake made her choice and I don’t want to talk about her.” Yang tried to sound firm but her treacherous voice wavered weakly.

“She did it to protect you.” Weiss said insistently, “She must have felt the same way, I know she did, I saw-” Yang slammed her fist into the side of the tub with a loud, meaty thud, cutting her off.

“It doesn’t matter her intentions!” She whipped her head around, trying to glare but Weiss was suddenly very blurry, “She left! She promised she was done running away! She promised she’d stay! She-,” Yang hiccuped and cursed herself, turning her head away from Weiss again, “She promised. She left me just like everyone else did.”

The bathroom fell uncomfortably silent, Yang refusing to look back at what must be pity in Weiss’s face. She wasn’t sure that she could handle it and she didn’t want to break down farther in front of someone she still barely knew. After a few long seconds, Yang felt a hand touch her shoulder and tensed.

“I’m still here.” Weiss offered up very quietly, “I know we may not be very close yet, but I hope that someday it comes to mean something to you. I can’t take Blake’s place and, more than that, I don’t want to, but I do want to offer you my support. Even though I don’t have a kingdom anymore, I still take my position as your betrothed seriously. For as long as you’ll have me, anyway.” 

Yang sniffled, letting Weiss’s words sink in for a moment and realizing that she was right. Ever since they’d been in Vale, Weiss had been nothing except there for her, even though Yang must be an absolute beast to get along with. No matter how mean she was to Weiss, Yang still hadn’t managed to chase her away.

Maybe it was her stubborn pride, but Yang couldn’t bring herself to vocalize these thoughts. The silence dragged on until Weiss gave a little sigh and drew her hand back, “I’ll leave you to finish and go start on breakfast.”

Feeling a panic come over her, Yang reached out and grabbed Weiss’s hand, her larger one covering the back, fingers curling in until she could touch her palm. She wasn’t sure what to say, but she just couldn’t let Weiss leave like this. Neither could she look at her, so she just hoped that the little action she’d managed would convey what she needed. Her muscles stayed tense as Weiss froze, but didn’t let go.

Finally, Yang heard a little chuckle and Weiss squeezed her fingers. Softly, she murmured, “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

Yang waited until she heard the door close before slumping until her chin was dipping into the water, “Idiot. What is wrong with me?”

 

______________________

 

After a bit of struggle, Yang entered the kitchen dressed for the day in simple furs, face still a little flushed from the embarrassment and frustration. On the plus side, she was getting really good at tying knots one handed, on the minus, she wished it wasn’t so hard to do something as simple as pulling on her underwear. She was a little grumpy as she took her place at the table, Weiss setting a plate in front of her almost as soon as she was settled.

“Thanks.” She muttered, knowing she was always holding the other girl up. For whatever reason, Weiss insisted that they eat together, even though Yang was late to almost everything she did now. Not that she actually did much.

“You’re welcome.” Weiss responded like a right proper lady, daintily picking up her silverware and spearing the simple meal with her fork. 

Eggs and bacon, Yang noticed, but no bread. Weiss must have burned it again, she sighed, appetite fading as she picked at her plate. She was reminded that Weiss had probably never cooked a day in her life and yet, here she was, waiting on Yang hand and foot.

“Why do you do this?” Since it seemed to be a day for unusual conversations, Yang decided to just ask what was on her mind, “You’ve definitely never cooked before this, right?”

“Of course not.” Yang looked up at the slightest hint of bitterness in Weiss’s voice, feeling guilt shoot through her, “I was a princess, cooking was a servant’s job.”

“You could just let my dad do it.” Yang mumbled, feeling like a heel.

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Weiss hastened to reassure, “I actually like cooking, I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to realize how much poison my life was.”

Surprised at those words, Yang didn’t say anything for a moment. “Poison?” She finally pressed gently.

“I don’t think you realize how pampered I was before this. I never did anything for myself, never cooked my own food, cleaned my own room, laundered my own clothes. I even had servants to bathe me and do my hair.” Weiss grabbed at the side tail she was sporting, shaking the hanging hair at Yang meaningfully. “It took me days to perfect even this.”

Now that she mentioned it, Yang realized that Weiss had been wearing her hair in complicated braids all the way up until the last couple days they were in Atlas. “It looks good on you.” Yang offered quietly.

“Thank you.” Weiss gave a sad smile, “Things have just been hard since everything happened and I only have myself to blame for it. I’m glad your father has allowed me to take over most of the chores, I need the practice.”

Yang let the conversation fall to silence, focusing on nibbling her meal. She wasn’t the only one that had it bad, Weiss lost her entire city and Kingdom and everything. Yet she was working her ass off and Yang was laying in bed. What excuse did she have for doing that? For doing nothing?

None, she had no excuse. 

She was worthless in more ways than one. 

Yang felt her thoughts chase themselves in circles of self loathing, chest aching with more pain than she thought she could bear. Her energy bled out of her, all other emotions fading away until it was just her and this pain. She wanted to scream, to throw something, to drag her nails over her own skin until her blood poured out, anything to give this pain an outlet, but Yang found that she couldn’t move.

This wasn’t the first time since coming back that she’d felt like this, hurting and yet utterly disconnected from herself. This time, however, she wasn’t able to roll over and pull her blanket over her head. She wanted to get up and run back to her room, but her legs wouldn’t respond at all. Instead, she sat at the table, like a lump, fork clutched in her hand, metal biting into her palm.

“Yang.” Weiss’s voice was full of undisguised concern and when Yang looked up, she could see a matching expression on her face. “Come here, let me take you in the other room.”

Yang couldn’t have fought back even if she wanted to, so she listlessly followed Weiss into the living room. This room was the main attraction to the house, sporting a well built fireplace in the center of the back wall. Everything else was designed around that point, beginning with a massive, raised hearth of dark stone. Furs were laid out in front of the hearth, piled haphazardly together; the comfort they offered irresistible.

Behind the fur pile were large, square sitting pillows, surrounding a low, wooden table that they often entertained guests at. Nearby to the table were two stylish trunks that Yang knew held games of many kinds, but could also be repurposed into makeshift tables.

The fireplace lay unlit, since there was still to be a few more months of warm weather, but the room itself was also a place of comfort to Yang. She and Ruby spent a lot of time here as kids and, later, when they came back to visit their father, it was with Blake and Pyrrha. Weiss urged her to sit on the pile of furs, wrapping one around her shoulders.

“Wait here.” Yang barely acknowledged Weiss leaving the room, slumping over and feeling her mind going pleasantly blank. It was welcomed after her depressive spiral, but now Yang just felt empty. She allowed herself to lay down and curl up into a ball, closing her eyes in the hopes of dozing for a while.

She wasn’t sure how long it was that Weiss was gone, but Yang became aware of a tugging on her shoulders, Weiss pulling her into a sitting position. “I changed your linens.” She informed, before gathering Yang’s hair in her hands, “I’m going to brush out your hair for you, okay?”

Still not feeling good, Yang just nodded, knowing that Weiss saw when she heard the brush run through her tangled hair. Tensing up, Yang expected to feel tugging, but was surprised when she didn’t. Weiss had a tight grip on her hair and was making sure to be careful; her caution helped Yang relax and tension onto slowly drained from her shoulders.

By the time Weiss had gotten to the top of Yang’s head, the Valean was slumped over in near total relaxation. Her earlier feelings had left her and she was exhausted, but glad they were gone. She hated feeling like that, it wasn’t something she’d ever had to cope with before and she had no idea how to stop it. 

She should be strong enough to.

The thick bristles of the brush drawing lightly over her sensitive scalp banished any further thoughts from her mind and Yang felt like she was going to fall asleep right where she was. She wasn’t even aware of Weiss maneuvering her to lay on her belly until her chin met fur. Fluttering her heavy eyelids open, Yang turned her head to look back at Weiss, grunting what she hoped would be understood as a question.

“Shh, just lay down and relax.” Weiss whispered softly. Yang couldn’t see any reason not to, so she grunted again and closed her eyes. That brush drew through her hair over and over again in slow, rhythmic motions, soothing her tired mind until her awareness began to fade. The last sensation Yang was cognizant of before falling into real sleep was the brush being replaced by small hands petting her wild mane.


	11. A Schedule Among Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changes are hard, but a routine helps with coping.

Weiss sighed, sitting back after she was sure Yang was totally asleep. It was painful to watch the older girl like this, angry and hurting and so unlike the confident warrior Weiss had first met a little more than a month ago. Today had been different; they’d actually talked some and Weiss hoped beyond hope that it was a sign that things were finally moving forward.

A soft chime pulled her attention away from the peacefully sleeping face of her betrothed, the standing clock in the far corner of the room indicating that it was nine in the morning. Weiss had to get up, she had many things to do today, but she was reluctant to leave Yang after seeing her so vulnerable earlier. Her thoughts flashed back to Yang’s words in the bathroom, hearing her anguish at being left alone. 

_‘Again,’ she’d said._ Weiss thought sadly, wondering at the pain behind the words. She supposed she could always ask Tai, but it seemed so nosy to go behind Yang’s back to her father. No, she’d wait until Yang was ready to tell her, that’s when she’d know that she’d earned her trust.

Carefully, Weiss got to her feet, moving silently so as to not wake Yang. She hoped the girl would find a peaceful sleep for once, but she couldn’t stay to make sure. A quick search of the room found some parchment and ink, so she penned a note for Yang, letting her know where to find her if she needed anything. She grabbed a water flask and exited the cabin out the back door.

Ever since coming to Vale, Weiss had not allowed herself to become idle. Throwing herself into work of all sorts, she was determined to make up for everything she’d done or not done in her life. The first, and biggest, obstacle was with her people.

After making it to the Vale border, she’d found out that the tribes had decided against letting the refugees enter the country and had set up a tent city in the plains just outside of Vale. She’d petitioned for days to get them to reverse the decision, putting forth all her considerable knowledge of bureaucracy in order to annoy them into meeting with her in person. It wasn’t until Taiyang had finally joined them did the council acquiesce.

By then, she’d had time to prepare. She’d dug up every ounce of information on the council members she could find, she’d planned for everything and started setting those plans in motion. Tai had been a great help once he’d arrived and by the time she was walking into that meeting, she knew exactly what she had to do. The Council of Vale was made up of warriors, not politicians, they were stubborn and physically strong, she doubted she could beat them on the field of battle.

Unfortunately for them, she’d grown up fighting with words, not fists. They didn’t stand a chance against her. She knew who to strong arm, who to ply with praise and who to defer to. She knew which words had the best effect against people who loved battle and cared for their tribes. It took hours, but the council caved to every one of her demands.

Her people would be allowed to enter Vale, they would be split up among the tribes based on skill set, and she would have everything to do with any decisions pertaining to them. That included punishments, housing arrangements, taxation, or anything else that would directly impact her countrymen.

By the time she’d left the meeting, they were calling her a demon behind her back. Weiss smiled at remembering it, it was a good feeling.

The reality of it all was a little more mundane and frustrating than she’d been imagining. She received weekly reports from each tribe about her people, letting her know about everything she had asked for. She was glad they were being so accommodating, she knew it must be just as frustrating to write it out as it was to read it. It was very dry.

Eventually, she’d have to actually travel to each tribe to review how her people were fitting in. She’d managed to buy herself a two month trial period, but it certainly looked like everyone was fitting in okay. She’d given a speech about what was to happen and her people had seemed determined to work hard. There’d only been a few notices of crimes being committed, which she’d advised to see appropriately punished after proper deliberation.

She’d received a notice of one today, from a far out tribe; a man had done something unthinkable to a female faunus and, from the testimony included in the scroll, seemed to think because he was an Atlas noble, he’d be pardoned for it. Weiss was disgusted by his behavior and the councilman’s suggested punishment for him had been too lenient in her eyes. 

Apparently that particular tribe was seen as backward even by Valean standards and it’s councilman had certainly been her biggest detractor. At the end of it all, he’d been forced to comply with her demands, but he hadn’t been happy about it. Judging from the scroll, he still wasn’t and taunted her about just letting them deal with his transgression. She had, however, been studying Vale law and punishment customs since she’d been here and had decided to suggest one of the harsher ones on the books for such misconduct. 

It would get her point across, in multiple ways. She was not to be trifled with and, hopefully, this would also quell any similar reactions from former nobles and detractors alike. She wanted it made clear at the accused’s hearing that it was _she_ that was responsible for his harsh punishment, so in the return letter she would send her thoughts on the matter to be read out.

Weiss walked out to a small, shaded structure set up in the backyard that she’d claimed as her workplace since coming here. She had a small box of documents, parchment and ink that she kept locked up, the key for which she wore on a thread around her neck. After answering any letters she received, she could easily move onto her next set of chores. The laundry basin was in the nearby shed with the clothes line strung between it and Weiss’s structure. There was also a nice, open clearing where Weiss could sit and practice her magic.

Since coming here, she’d been determined to perfect her studies and finally master summoning. It was a slow process and she often found herself frustrated by her lack of progress, no different than when she was in Atlas. However, yesterday she’d had a bit of a breakthrough when all her sweat and energy had produced a tiny, armored gauntlet. 

It was familiar to her, a summon her father had another mage call forth to test her just after Winter left. He’d been furious and Weiss knew now he’d wanted her to suffer his wrath. The knight had been far above her skill level, but she’d been determined because Father made it clear that if she lost, she could say goodbye to her fencing instructor. The battle had been grueling, it tested every limit she’d had, magical shields gave way to desperate parries which eventually lead to a broken wrist and the scar over her eye when the knight had slammed into her full force. Only her training, ingrained in her muscle memory, and a massive amount of Dust had spared her more injury.

She’d defeated the knight, at the end of it all, and Father had been unable to do more than let her continue her training. That had been the start of monthly tests for her, though, to make sure she was keeping up with everything.

Looking back now, Weiss could see it for the abuse that it was.

Yesterday’s breakthrough had showed her what she was missing with her summoning. All the books, studying forms, incantation practice, and demonstrations in the world couldn’t help her feel what it was like to summon something. Most mages could just do it with practice, but the Schnee line mages were tied to it on a different level. They could summon defeated foes, rather than just creatures from another plane. In fact, most could _only_ summon fallen foes.

Winter was the only living Schnee that could summon and she had left before Weiss had come up on that part of her training. Even before then, the two were kept apart as work was piled onto them both and, shortly after that, Winter had escaped. Weiss had to pause in her thoughts as the intense feeling of missing her sister hit her like a brick. She’d sent a letter off to Winter as soon as she’d been able, but she had yet to hear back. Weiss could only hope she still lived.

Shaking her head, Weiss sat down and cleared her thoughts of the past and her worry in order to set about writing the return letter she needed to get to. She made sure to be as strict and detailed as possible, especially with the little speech she wanted included. By the time she was done and setting aside the parchment to dry, her hand and neck were aching.

Sitting up straight, she glanced out to the sundial in the yard, surprised to find an hour had passed. Groaning slightly, Weiss forced herself to stand; she was overdue to start her daily training, there was no time to work out the kinks from sitting so long. She did physical training every morning before dawn and had kept up with it every day since she’d settled in here, but now it was time for magic.

In the center of the wide yard was a smooth boulder with a flat top and Weiss had found it, with its place in direct sunlight, perfect for meditation and training on good weather days. She stood from her chair, hearing her spine realigning with a series of pops, and made her way to the boulder. A swift, practiced motion had her hopping up on the surface and Weiss pulled her legs in to sit comfortably.

Training her magic was a different thing entirely from training her body. She could run and sweat and work until her body gave up, but magic almost always had something to draw from. If she depleted her normal energy reserves, it would take from her lifeforce itself. Pushing her limits as a mage was dangerous and she needed to have perfect control over herself. Letting out a breath, Weiss closed her eyes and counted backwards until she found her meditative state.

Of course, she couldn’t actually see magic within herself, but she could feel it and it helped her to control it if she gave her mind a way to visualize everything. Weiss, in the darkness behind her eyelids, thought of the outline of herself sitting on the rock as a white lined vessel. In this vessel ran her power and she had to pull it from every corner of her being and focus it into a convenient pool to pull from.

After years of the same exercise, centering herself became second nature, so Weiss was able to do so within seconds. Her power felt like a frigid breeze in the middle of winter, reminding her of good times with her sister when they were still too young to know better. Like her sister, her power represented protection and safety. Unlike her sister, it was unconditionally here for her.

Weiss let out a slow breath and opened her eyes, clearing her mind from distracting thoughts. Today, she was focused on her fight with the knight, the struggle against its huge form, how it had taken everything out of her to defeat it and how good it felt when she finally did. Seizing that satisfaction, Weiss formed a glyph, adding the summoning runes to the outside of the circle.

 _‘Come on, big boy.’_ Weiss coaxed, seeing that gauntlet in her memories and willing it to appear for her. She’d seen it rise in front of her in that training room, one hand, then the other, pulling itself up. Now, nothing happened.

Frustration began to well up in her and her focus wavered. Weiss slammed the emotion down and sent a wave of energy at her glyph. The glyph latched onto her energy and tugged. Weiss tugged back, but for a sudden, inexplicable moment, she could feel that whatever was on the other side of the glyph was stronger.

Panic shot through her and the magics snapped and dissipated. Panting, Weiss stared at the ground where her glyph had been. “Dammit!” The side of her fist impacted the boulder.

“So, this is where you’ve been.” Yang’s voice sent Weiss right off the rock in shock.

“Yang!” Weiss whipped around to find her betrothed standing nearby. Sighing deeply, Weiss put one hand over her pounding heart, “You startled me.”

After her pulse calmed some, Weiss was able to take in the other woman’s appearance. For the first time in a month, Yang actually looked rested, her face had color in it, her eyes were brighter.

“Found your note.” Yang held up the parchment, “So I came looking. I haven’t been out here since I got back, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t find you earlier.” 

“I can’t exactly practice my magic inside.” Weiss hopped back up onto the boulder, allowing her legs to hang over the edge, crossed at the ankles.

“What do you even need to practice? I thought you were great at everything?” Yang approached, arm wrapped around her middle. The posture was so obviously guarded that Weiss nearly cringed. This girl couldn’t help wearing her heart on her sleeve and Weiss guessed that asking if she was feeling better might just make her clam up. Maybe talking about herself would help.

“I excel at glyphs and time dilation. I’m great at elemental control. I’m good at most other things, but rarely use them. My healing magic could probably use work.” It was one of her weaker subjects, honestly. “But I’m abysmal at summoning. Something my family is known for and I can’t even do it.”

Yang looked clearly surprised, “I can’t decided which is more shocking, that you’re bad at something or that you’d admit it.”

Weiss could tell it was not meant as an insult, at least, she didn’t think Yang would be needlessly cruel, but she couldn’t help how hurt shot through her. She forced her face into neutrality so nothing would be given away, “Even someone like me isn’t perfect. At least, not yet.”

It was haughty, Weiss knew she’d never say anything like that now, not after her city laid in ruins. Before that, though, was it really so strange to hear a boast like that come from her mouth? Certainly she’d gotten used to exuding confidence in everything she did. Strong posture, control over her emotions, measured tone; she’d practiced hard to make herself seem untouchable. It was scary how easy it was to fall into that old routine when she felt threatened.

At one time, the spoiled confidence hadn’t been an act, but Weiss couldn’t be sure when exactly it had turned into one.

Yang was looking at her with an odd expression on her face and Weiss saw her arm tighten its grip on her middle. After a moment of hesitation, Yang strode forward, steps unusually timid, and hopped up on the boulder next to Weiss. Weiss tensed when their shoulders touched, unused to even an accidental brush, much less this firm contact.

“I’m sorry.” Yang’s words just made her muscles tighten more, “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just always so confident and competent. I didn’t realize until just now how relaxed you’ve been here, despite everything.” There was a pause and Weiss could feel Yang’s eyes boring into the side of her head, “I’d never thought I could actually see the moment someone put their walls up.” The words were nearly a whisper and that somehow made them all the more intimate.

“And I can read everything on your face.” Weiss countered softly, words lacking the bite she wanted to put into them.

“There’s no need for subterfuge here. We’re a straightforward people. _You_ can be even more guarded than B-” Yang cut herself off with a click of her jaw, clenching her teeth together. The silence between them was awkward.

“How did you sleep?” Weiss finally took pity on them both and spoke up.

“....Fine.” Yang was so short in just that one word that Weiss nearly sighed in frustration. Then, surprisingly, she continued, “I slept fine. I think I needed it, I feel better.”

“You should probably do it more often, then.” Weiss suggested, shoulders and back beginning to ache from her rigid posture.

“I’m tired of sleeping.” Yang growled, “I do it plenty.”

“Sleep, but not rest.” Weiss pointed out, finally turning her head to try and meet Yang’s eyes. 

Yang sighed in exasperation and Weiss saw purple roll dramatically, “There’s a difference?”

“Humph, if nuance is too complicated for you, I’ll try to use simpler words.” Yang turned to look at her in surprise, studying her face to try and determine whether to take her seriously. Weiss let the corner of her lips quirk up just a bit.

“...You’re messing with me.” Yang accused softly, tone flat, but not displeased. 

Weiss felt tension drain from her muscles and let her shoulders drop, relaxing her posture a little more than she would have at home, “Only a little.”

Air puffed through Yang’s nose in an amused huff and they fell into an amicable silence. After a few moments, though, Yang spoke up, “So, how does one practice magic? How are you gonna summon?”

Weiss sighed, but she didn’t get tense again, “Well, I have certain exercises to follow that will slowly grow my stamina and strength. Start with meditation to center myself and my energy, then focus on trying to summon.”

“Yeah, but, how?” Yang asked slowly, “How does it work?”

“Well now, that’s the question, isn’t it?” Weiss paused, then motioned her hand in front of them in an almost dismissive gesture. A small glyph came into being with no effort, “My magic is a little bit different for two reasons. One is my bloodline. The Schnee family created their own style even before the founding of Atlas and it’s something that’s so uniquely us that it bonded with our energies and became a hereditary trait. Which isn’t terribly uncommon in long mage lines, you may notice that a certain family is very good at one kind of magic. However, we’re different because of the way we use our glyphs as focuses for other spells.”

“‘Focuses’?” Yang’s tone was thoughtful and Weiss could tell she was trying her best to take in everything Weiss was saying.

“A mage can use an object to better direct their spells. Things like that are why ritual is so important to mages and just another way we differ from sorcerers. Having an object that you can literally send your power into to concentrate it is very helpful for us, especially in the heat of battle. It’s why a lot of Mage Corp weapons are pointed and long.”

“But you use a flat disc.” Yang pointed out, tapping the glyph with her knuckles.

“Because I don’t need to channel it very far. I use my symbol to draw energy into the center, then cast out from there. That kind of thing becomes second nature for mages in my line.” Weiss sighed, “That does bring me back to how I’m a little bit more different, however. You see, most mages simply need forms, incantations, and ritual objects to cast spells for the first time. My magic has always been more emotional.”

Taking a deep breath, Weiss went on, “The first time I summoned a glyph was also the first time my magic manifested. I was upset about something and I wanted my mother to hold me. Her and no one else. So when the servants tried to calm me, I threw up a glyph between us. After that, magic was easier because I had my focus, but summoning was always different.”

“Different how?” Yang asked when the silence stretched too long.

“My sister once told me that she has names for all her summons, because you form a bond with them when you call them forth. I was always told that I couldn’t summon because I was too young, but now I have to wonder; is it….” Weiss hesitated, then said softly, “Actually because I’m just incapable of trusting? Or is it because they won’t trust me?” 

Weiss looked down and away, letting out a breath; it had been incredibly hard to admit that to anyone after she’d gotten so used to keeping things inside. A warm hand fell on her shoulder and Weiss suddenly had a flashback to the last time Winter had comforted her like that. As they grew older, Winter had toned down any physical affection to almost nothing, so Weiss grew to crave even the slightest touch. A hand on her shoulder was as good as a hug from the reserved Winter.

The last time it had happened had been when Winter had revealed her enlistment. Weiss was the first person outside the military recruiters than knew and Winter had asked for her support against father. Weiss was twelve and she was heartbroken, they’d had a family friend die only weeks ago and now Winter was leaving, too. She’d wanted to scream and cry, to tell Winter it wasn’t fair, that she couldn’t leave her. Then her large, warm hand rested on Weiss’s shoulder and she was stunned enough to actually take a good look at Winter.

She looked tired, worn, she was pleading with Weiss to be on her side and Weiss loved her big sister more than anything. What other answer could she give except agreement? She’d rested her hand over Winter’s and squeezed.

In the present, Weiss did the same, covering the scarred back of Yang’s hand with her calloused palm, realizing that she’d grown so much since then. “I don’t think you’re incapable of trusting.” Yang said softly, “I mean, you opened up to me.”

“I don’t know what’s holding me back.” Weiss confessed in a whisper, “I can feel them, under the surface, so close I can touch. They just won’t answer my calls. It has to be me, I can tell that they’re all strong. Maybe they just don’t think I’m worthy.”

“Maybe it’s just that you don’t think you’re worthy.” Yang countered and Weiss looked at her in surprise. “Maybe you’re self sabotaging. Maybe you’ve been told for so long that you can’t do it that you’re making up reasons to justify why.”

“ _Maybe_ ,” Yang stressed the word, “You should just believe you can do it.”

“I don’t think it’s really all that simple.” As much as she wished it was, Weiss couldn’t believe that just being positive would change her ability. 

“Why not? It’s magic, you think it and it happens.” Yang used the hand on her shoulder to position her so they were sitting cross legged, facing each other on the surface of the boulder. She gestured vaguely, “Just… do it.”

Weiss gave a little, amused huff, “It’s more in depth than that.”

“Can you make some ice?” Yang asked abruptly, confusing Weiss, who shrugged and held out her hand. With no effort, a glyph appeared and dropped some ice in her palm. “Good, now do that, but with summoning.”

“It’s not the same.” Weiss objected, but Yang didn’t let her continue.

“Why not? It’s all magic.”

“No, it’s not.” Weiss could hear her tone as it came out and realized she sounded more offended than she probably should be. “That’s elemental, summoning is conjuration.”

“All magic is conjuration, you’re conjuring miracles.” Yang gestured to the space between them, “Summon a creature like you summoned the ice.”

Weiss’s sigh was more aggravated, but she decided to humor Yang and if that didn’t tell her how desperate she was, then nothing would. She focused on the gauntlet, seeing the knight’s fist in her mind’s eye, looking the same as it had just before it struck her face all those years ago. She closed her eyes and felt her glyph form between them, thinking about the form she used to call forth ice.

Maybe she could make an ice gauntlet, she thought, amused at the idea. She’d made giant icicles before, there was no reason to think she couldn’t summon more complex shapes. She thought of how that gauntlet would look as an ice sculpture. White or bluish as opposed to metallic silver, maybe it would even be see through. They could make it an art exhibit.

“Weiss.” Yang’s voice pulled her from her thoughts and she opened her eyes, hearing an awed tone.

“What?” Weiss asked, then froze. Between the two of them lay a huge, metallic silver gauntlet, fingers closed in a fist. Weiss found herself speechless.

Yang was far from it, “I told you! You did it! I think? Were you trying to do that?”

Weiss could do nothing but nod.

Laughing lightly, Yang reached out and shoved Weiss’s shoulder. Weiss jerked her attention from the knight’s fist in surprise. With a flash of light and visibly dispersing magic, the gauntlet began to fade away.

Weiss let out a tiny, disbelieving sound, somewhere between a huff and a laugh, “I can’t believe it. I really was overthinking it, as soon as I stopped focusing on it, it appeared. Yang…” Weiss looked up into encouraging purple eyes, “I think I can do this.”

“Of course you can.” Yang said softly, “It’s magic, you said it yourself, your family is strong with it. Mastering this was just a matter of time for you.”

“I haven’t mastered it yet.” Weiss chuckled, then sighed, giving Yang a grateful smile, “Thank you. I don’t think I could have done this without you and knowing it’s not impossible is a load off my mind.”

“You would have gotten it eventually.” Yang protested, “I really didn’t do anything.”

“I’m not so sure.” Weiss admitted quietly, looking away, “I’ve been feeling very overwhelmed lately. I want to be a good leader, but I didn’t realize how much I needed to do and then, on top of that, this disaster happened and I’m thrown into the middle of it. I have…. No one to help me.” Weiss swallowed hard as her voice cracked on the last word.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, fighting back the tears and trying to steel her resolve, “I shouldn’t complain. My family got us into this mess and it’s my responsibility to help my people. It’s just that there’s so many letters and I’m not sure on Atlesian policy for everything and I don’t have advisors or references. I have no one to delegate duties to and I honestly don’t even have time to talk about this because I have so much more work to complete.”

“Maybe I can help.” Yang offered and Weiss glanced over to see her looking down, “I’ve been useless so far I might as well-”

Weiss cut her off firmly, “You haven’t been useless!” Yang looked up in shock at her vehemence, “You’ve suffered an incredible trauma and you need to focus on your recovery. I don’t want you to think that you’ve added to my burden, either. Helping you has been nice.”

Here Yang’s look turned incredulous and Weiss reached out to set her hand on Yang’s shoulder, “No, really. Sure you’ve been… difficult, but spending time with you; I can just see that I’m having an effect.”

Yang looked away and Weiss cupped her cheek, gently turning her face back, “Every day you get a little better. I can see the progress you’re making and I know that it’s so frustrating to work so hard and feel like you’re barely moving forward. I want you to know that I’m proud of you, even if it’s not my place to say something like that. You can lean on me if you need to.”

For a few moments, it seemed like Yang wasn’t going to be able to say anything. She brought her hand up to cover Weiss’s, slipping her fingers into her palm and giving a little squeeze. “I want to be there for you, too.” she managed to whisper.

Weiss smiled slightly, “What if we make a deal with each other? If things start to get too tough, I’ll go to you and you’ll do the same for me. We’ll help one another and tackle things together.”

Yang swallowed hard and Weiss could see her thinking the offer over. For a moment, she was afraid the barbarian would refuse, but just as she began to hold her breath in anticipation, Yang nodded once and whispered, “Okay.” Then said, louder, “I think my dad might be able to help you with delegating stuff. He knows lots of people, he can get you someone trustworthy. And you need to start using Klein.”

“No.” Weiss immediately protested.

“He knows what he’s doing and he wants to help.” Yang insisted.

“He’s not my servant, he’s my family.” Shaking her head, Weiss pulled her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Of course he’s family, that’s why he wants to help you. He loves you. Let him help, Weiss, please.” Leaning forward a bit, Yang put on her best sincere expression and Weiss knew that she was going to cave if she kept looking.

Turning her head stubbornly, she pouted, “How do you even know about this?” She tried, hoping to distract Yang from this line of thought. She really didn’t want to pull Klein into her mess or use him, he meant more to her than just someone to fetch her coffee.

“The walls in the cabin aren’t that thick, I’ve heard you arguing and don’t try to change the subject. He wants to help you and not because he’s your servant. Family supports each other, that’s what they’re there for.” A little shove on her shoulder brought Weiss’s attention back to Yang’s face, “Hey, you know I’m right.”

Weiss sighed slowly, “It’s just that simple, huh?”

“Yup.” Yang smiled, popping the ‘p’ playfully, “Family also doesn’t just have to be blood, but I can see you’re figuring that one out, too.”

“Yes, well, I’m not totally inept at this ‘family’ business.” Weiss returned the smile, then paused, “I’m glad to see you feeling better. I think this is the most like yourself you’ve been since the Fall.” Yang’s face fell and Weiss winced, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, you’re right.” Yang tried to reassure, “Helping you seems to help. Maybe it’s just the distraction, because I certainly wasn’t thinking about it just now.”

“If a distraction is what you need, I’d be happy to oblige.” Weiss said, then tentatively continued, “But maybe we can talk about it a bit? I had a thought the other day that might be helpful.”

Yang sighed, but gestured for her to continue, “What was it?”

“Well, a prosthetic might help you regain mobility?” Weiss didn’t mean to make it sound like a question, but her voice lifted uncertainly at the end.

Yang scoffed, “A prosthetic, you mean something that Atlas specialized in? The moving thing that no Valean has ever made? That kind of prosthetic?”

“I know the spells.” Weiss pointed out, “And Vale’s just received an influx of Altesians, surely we can find a craftsman among them that knows how to make prosthetics.”

Apparently Yang hadn’t thought of that, because she stuttered and stumbled for a moment. “It won’t be the same.” She grumbled defensively.

“Of course not.” Weiss’s voice was soft, the kind of tone you used to coax a frightened animal, “Nothing will ever be the same, but part of healing is learning to deal with the changes.”

Something about that seemed to catch Yang’s attention. She paused and made a face of reluctant realization, “You mean you have to roll with the punches.”

Weiss nodded, “Mhmm, yeah. If you get knocked down in a fight, you have to get back up. Or die on the ground.”

They fell into silence as Yang contemplated this. Weiss let her have the time she needed, not wanting to push too far. A long moment stretched into several minutes of quiet, making Weiss struggle not to fidget.

“I’ll think about it.” Yang finally said, so softly, Weiss had to lean forward to hear.

“That’s all I can ask.”

They fell into silence for a few moments and Weiss couldn’t tell if it was awkward or not. Then Yang let out a breath and gave a little smile, “Hey, why don’t you give summoning another try. See if we can’t get you to do it on purpose this time.”

Weiss chuckled and nodded, “Alright, sit back a bit.” Then shifted into a more comfortable position and closed her eyes to concentrate.


	12. Spring in the Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing takes a different amount of time for everyone, but sometimes a push is needed anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is later than my usual update schedule. I've been experiencing a lot of writer's block lately, so the next couple of chapters are small. However, with nanowrimo going on I've been writing like crazy, and I'm hoping to wrap this act up soon enough. Thanks for bearing with me.

“Weiss.” Weiss’s eyes snapped open at the soft whisper, barely able to see purple eyes in the dark of the room. “Shift over.”

Letting out a tiny grunt, Weiss moved from the center of the bed to the outside edge, reaching out blindly to pull the blankets back to accommodate her bed companion. Yang kneeled on the bed and threw her leg over Weiss’s hips to climb over her; Weiss had to jerk her hand up to keep her fingers from getting crushed and she made a noise of displeasure when the weight of a knee tugged on her hair. Yang mumbled apologies as she fumbled in the dark to get to her, now usual, space.

Weiss waited for Yang to get comfortable, she liked to roll onto her right side to face the wall, before turning and resting an arm around her middle. “You know….” She started, drawing the words out and listening to Yang sigh at the familiar line.

“I know.” Yang said flatly, trying to cut her off.

“If you know, why did you wait until the middle of the night to come get into bed with me?” Weiss pointed out, snuggling down and pressing her face into thick hair. Yang still smelled like the soap from her bath earlier and Weiss let herself breathe in the clean scent.

“Weiss…” Yang groaned, reluctant to admit anything.

“Yang.” Weiss countered, “If you’d just stop being so stubborn I’d not only stop teasing you about it, but we’d both probably get a full night’s sleep.”

“Isn’t it not proper for a princess to share a bed with her betrothed before marriage?” Yang shot back, a pout in her voice, and Weiss had to chuckle. She must really be embarrassed if she was pulling this card.

“In Atlas, maybe. Aren’t those kinds of things still up in the air here?” Weiss pointed out, quite reasonably in her opinion.

Yang groaned again, “Weiss, you aren’t making this easy on me.”

“No, you’re just making this harder than it has to be. You’ve been doing this for two weeks now, I think we’re passed the point of pretending it’s not going to happen again. On top of that, it’s been three weeks since we promised we’d help each other out, so it’s not like I’m suddenly going to kick you out of bed. Even if I was, it’d be because you keep waking me up and pulling my hair.”

Weiss felt Yang heat up with a blush, “Sorry.” She mumbled.

“You could make it up to me by being in bed before I fall asleep, Miss I-have-to-sleep-next-to-the-wall.” Weiss teased, giving Yang’s waist a little squeeze. She was gratified when Yang’s hand rested on her forearm in return and began to settle down to go back to sleep.

Things were silent for a little while, Weiss was beginning to doze back off. Then Yang said, very quietly, “Thank you.” In response, Weiss just snuggled closer.

 

__________________

 

Morning seemed to come almost too quickly after that. Weiss felt like she’d only closed her eyes for an instant before she was opening them to squint into the harsh morning sunlight streaming through her window. Certainly the thing she missed most about living in Atlas was having someone waiting with coffee for her in the morning.

Sighing, Weiss scolded herself for the thought. Of course that wasn’t true, she was just grumpy in the mornings. Yang was also very warm, pressed against her like this, and that made it very hard to want to get out of bed for the day. It had taken them a little while to get used to this arrangement and figure out boundaries, but after waking up tangled together, they’d realized that cuddling was perfectly fine for them both. 

Which was wonderful, because Weiss hadn’t known how touch starved she was until she got to have regular contact like this. Pressing her forehead into Yang back, she let herself yawn and stretch a bit, feeling Yang shift in response.

“Ah, you’re awake. You slept in today.” Yang was usually the first to wake and Weiss was grateful that she normally waited instead of leaving Weiss in a cold bed.

“Sorry. Have you been waiting long?” Weiss slowly began gathering herself, pulling her arm back from its place over Yang’s middle and sitting up. Yang followed suit unhurriedly, but Weiss was alarmed to see dark circles under her eyes, “Have you slept?” She asked, leaning forward and examining Yang’s haggard appearance.

“Not really. I just couldn’t seem to get back to it.” Yang shrugged and looked away from Weiss’s scrutiny.

“Bad dreams?” Weiss asked cautiously.

Hastening to reassure her, Yang jerked her focus back to Weiss and shook her head quickly, “No. I wasn’t kidding when I said being with you helped. So, don’t think that you’re not.”

Weiss waited, expecting Yang to continue, but the silence just stretched. Finally, she asked softly, “So what kept you up?”

Yang shrugged, looking away again, “Just couldn’t turn my brain off.” She mumbled, as though ashamed.

Well, Weiss wasn’t about to let her go on with that feeling. Unfortunately, she was limited on ways to help Yang fight it, so she decided to go with what she did know. Reaching out, she grabbed Yang’s shoulder and tugged her forward, leaning back against the bed. Bewildered, Yang followed along, letting Weiss direct her until they were both lying down, Weiss on her back with Yang half on top of her, head resting on Weiss’s chest. 

It was awkward with their difference in height, Weiss could tell that Yang’s feet were sticking out at the end of the bed. Yang was also much heavier and she was holding herself up, worried about crushing Weiss. Reaching down to grab Yang’s supporting elbow, Weiss gave a tug and felt her pitch forward, losing her balance and landing firmly on top of her. Yang was heavy, but not enough to break her.

“Relax.” Weiss scolded, beginning to stroke Yang’s hair gently.

Yang remained tense for a few more seconds, before suddenly snorting out a laugh and finally going limp, “Only you could make that sound so threatening.”

“I was just afraid I was going to have to break out tickling next.” Weiss was gratified that her little joke was met with a giggle.

“I’ll fight you, don’t you even try it.” Yang’s voice was suitably amused and Weiss considered her comforting attempt a success. 

The two settled down for a moment, allowing comforting silence stretch between them. Weiss mused absently about how much she’d changed in such a short amount of time; less than three months since the fall of Atlas and here she was, cuddling with someone she’d once considered a total savage. Actually, the fact that she was cuddling with anyone was amazing, when was the last time someone held her?

It must have been either Klein or Winter, but Weiss was honestly hard pressed to remember anything beyond short hugs, even as a child. This? This pressure and warmth across her whole body, the scent of another person so close, feeling Yang’s heartbeat against her ribs? This was intoxicating. 

She’d never been much for romance stories, but her mother had read one to her long ago and Weiss distinctly remembered the woman talking about longing to be held by her loved one. Until this, she’d never understood, but now there were moments when being held was all she wanted. In hindsight, it was probably why she was so okay with Yang sharing her bed, despite how improper she knew it was. 

They’d done their best to keep it a secret, but more often than not, Weiss found herself becoming more reluctant to care about getting caught. Were they really doing anything so bad? They were betrothed, wasn’t getting along to be expected, even hoped for? The act wasn’t even the most intimate thing they could do in a bed.

Weiss had to stop herself there, flushing as her mind conjured images of such intimacy. She needed to get up before that thought wagon could run away anymore. “You should come running with me.” She blurted, desperate to distract herself. It was getting a little late in the morning for her usual routine, but that didn’t mean that it was okay for Weiss to slack. Normally, she was up with the sun to work out, having come up with a great way to train her stamina and still have fun. 

She would run, then dance and cartwheel and tumble, all things she’d done while growing up, combined into one intense exercise plan. It had been far too many years since she’d had proper teachers, but a princess was expected to be well rounded. She’d managed to work in such a way that she could give certain muscles attention without wearing her whole self out. The past weeks had done wonders for her stamina and her muscle tone, if she did say so herself.

Perhaps Yang could benefit as well.

“Running?” Weiss felt Yang stiffen and looked down in surprise, “Outside? Away from the house?”

“Not too far.” Weiss said cautiously, “There’s a path through the woods I use that circles the grounds.”

Yang didn’t relax and Weiss gently stroked her back to try and help ease her. This wasn’t the first time she’d asked Yang to do something outside her comfort zone, but this was the first time she wondered if she should back off if Yang declined her. Something about the genuine fear in her face made her second guess the logic of the idea.

On the other hand, Yang needed to start getting out and keeping active, sooner rather than later. The more she laid in bed and wallowed, the harder it was going to be on her when she finally did come out of the house. When Yang’s silence persisted, Weiss decided that maybe pushing was the right idea, but she could start gently.

“You really should come with me.” She let her voice lower until it was almost a whisper, “It’ll be fun, just the two of us and the morning air and the forest.”

“I’m not sure that I’m ready.” Yang admitted, so quiet Weiss had to strain to hear.

“Maybe not, maybe you’ll never feel like you’re ready, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. You’ve been cooped up for a while and it probably won’t feel good at first, but it’ll give you something tangible to work towards.” Weiss paused, then added, “And I’ll be beside you the whole time.”

Yang gave a little huff and then sniffled, “Promise?” Her voice sounded shockingly small and Weiss wanted nothing more than to reassure her.

“Of course. I want to support you in whatever way you need.” Leaning down, Weiss let her lips press to the top of Yang’s head.

“You know, when you say it like that, I really believe you.” Yang’s words caught her off guard.

“Why wouldn’t you? I hope you don’t think I’ve been anything but earnest.” Weiss tilted her head down, trying to catch Yang’s eyes, but it seemed as though Yang was purposefully hiding her face.

“I know you mean it.” Yang mumbled, “It’s just that my dad… He’s trying, I just think he’s getting impatient with my progress. You’ve fought me every step of the way and I feel like I’ve been better for it. My dad’s outward philosophy has always been to face challenges and not let them cow you. But when Ruby’s mom died, I was the one cleaning up after him. He was worse than me, at least I don’t have two kids.”

Weiss was stunned by the revelation, she’d heard of Summer Rose by now, she was impossible to miss in this house, but she’d never heard about the specifics of how the home was torn apart by her departure. Taiyang was so supportive, too, even if he seemed to be trying some tough love on Yang. Certainly he hadn’t noticed that he wasn’t really helping, but he kept telling Weiss how much he was willing to try.

“But I’m not bitter.” Yang concluded, leaning down and burying her face in Weiss’s belly.

“Do you want me to talk to him? Tell him to back off?” Weiss offered. She was on good terms with the man, she could make him understand or at least talk him into leaving Yang to her.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just deal with it.” Yang’s voice was very muffled, but Weiss still managed to get the gist.

“Yang, he’s your dad, if he’s hurting you, you should tell him.”

“Isn’t that what parents do? Hurt you?”

Weiss opened her mouth to protest, then stopped herself. Objectively, she knew that was wrong, parents were supposed to protect their children and see them grow up right. However, her own upbringing left something to be desired. “I guess that’s true. It’s also why we have each other.”

Yang huffed against her stomach and Weiss squirmed at the ticklish sensation. The weight of Yang’s head lifted and she looked down into contemplative purple eyes, “I guess that’s true.” Yang mimicked her words, a smile tugging at her lips, “Alright, I’ll run with you. But! Not every day.”

Weiss, ever the eager negotiator, smiled, “Fine, but you need to do my whole work out routine four days a week to make up for it.”

“What?” Yang cried, offended, “No way, that’s more than half the week. Two days.”

“Three days and I’ll scale you up to my level slowly.” Weiss shot back, watching a look of horrified realization cross Yang’s face.

“Were you just going to throw me in the deep end?”

“Uh, yeah.” She muttered as though Yang were being irritating.

Silence fell as they locked eyes and began to have a staring contest. After a long, tense moment, Yang blinked first, “You drive a hard bargain, Schnee.”

With a haughty smirk, Weiss grinned and began to sit up, “I am Atlesian, you know.” 

Yang grinned back and Weiss was happy to see it, “So I guess I can expect to win against you through superior force?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Weiss smirked teasingly, “Maybe if you really get into training you might be able to catch up to me.” She let her voice drop to something softer, an unspoken invitation lacing her words, “We still haven’t sparred.”

She watched the expressions cross Yang’s face as she gave the idea some thought, “Maybe…” She began slowly, “Maybe that should be the goal I work towards.”

“Yeah?” Weiss let slip in surprise.

“Yeah. I know we don’t exactly have a baseline comparison, but it still feels like a good idea to test myself against you.”

“Or just test yourself.” Weiss pointed out gently.

“That too.” Yang gave a weak smile.

Weiss returned it and let the silence stretch for a few moments. Then she carefully sat up, tugging Yang with her. “Let’s start now.” She explained at Yang’s questioning look.

“Now?” Panic tinged Yang’s voice, but Weiss didn’t give her time to pull away, “But I’m-”

“I know.” Weiss cupped Yang’s face and forced their eyes to meet, “I’m here for you, though. Trust me.”

Yang slowly took in a deep breath and let it out through her nose, “Okay.” She became more pliable and let Weiss guide her to her feet, “Let’s go.”

_____________

 

Weiss came down the stairs slowly, following the heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. The morning’s run had been fantastic, once she’d gotten going Yang had actually seemed to enjoy herself. There were a few rough spots when the barbarian tired long before the mage had and been upset at herself for slowing them down, but Weiss had managed to defuse the bad feelings with a few well chosen words and a little hugging.

She was becoming quite proficient at this affection business.

The two had returned to the house sweaty and aching and joking with each other about some little thing that felt huge because Yang was visibly happy. Weiss had slipped into the bathroom for a quick scrub and then tugged Yang in to help her before any bad thoughts could start sinking in. Luckily, Yang’s good mood held and they’d had a pleasant conversation all throughout the bath. 

The smell of food had hit them as Weiss was rinsing out Yang’s hair and it was decided that Yang would finish up while Weiss would investigate. Honestly, it wasn’t hard to deduce, but Weiss went along with it anyway. She wanted to talk to Tai alone.

“Good morning.” She greeted, turning the corner and finding the King of Vale wearing a food stained apron and stirring at a pan on the Dust powered stove. The sight never failed to make her giggle; the leader of an entire kingdom making breakfast was simply too absurd and she wasn’t sure she’d ever be used to it.

“Morning!” He greeted with a cheerful smile, expertly flipping the omelet in the pan. 

Weiss noticed that four plates had been set out on the nearby table and felt a little thrill go through her. Eating all together wasn’t something she expected to miss, but with Klein and Tai running such busy days, neither were usually around when Weiss and Yang sat down to eat. Klein normally joined them for dinner, but Tai was usually one to run late into the night.

Weiss used to hate how dining together was just another thing her father used to control her, but now that she barely saw some of her favorite people, she was beginning to realize that it wasn’t so bad. Thinking back to what Yang had said this morning, she began to wonder if maybe this lack of closeness had always affected her betrothed. Had Taiyang always been so busy? No wonder Yang was so protective of Ruby.

“Are you and Klein joining us today?” She shook away any alarming thoughts for the moment, filing them away to be mused over later.

“Yeah, some of the people I needed to meet with got delayed, so I thought it might be nice if we had a family breakfast. Sorry again for stealing Klein away, he’s training a replacement for me and it’s difficult to convince Valeans to be so organized. I promise you’ll have him back soon.” 

Weiss slipped into her normal spot and leaned her elbow on the table, “He’s very good at what he does, but I’m hardly lost without him. His help simply makes things much easier. Which I think we both know.”

Tai’s shoulders shook with mirth for a moment, then he glanced over his shoulder at her, eyebrows raised, “How’s all that going, by the way? Klein told me how reluctant you were to come to him, so I know he’s relieved you did.”

“Great, actually.” Weiss huffed a little laugh, shaking her head ruefully, “He already knew everything I needed, he’d been making lists of people he knew could help me. When I told him what I wanted to do, it took him no time to send messages out. Everyone we picked is finally settled down, too, just received the last scroll yesterday.”

“Good.” Tai grinned at her, taking the omelet to the table and setting a bit on each plate. Conversation paused as he turned back to the stove and settled bacon into the pan carefully. Once it was safe, he leaned against the counter and smiled softly at her, “You need to be able to take a break, you’re still just a kid, after all. You don’t need all this responsibility by yourself.”

Weiss frowned and straightened up, “I may be young, but I’m not a child. My entire kingdom has fallen and my people’s health and well being are my duty. The responsibility belongs to no one except me and I don’t share that by delegating. I’m held accountable for those acting as my proxy as much as I was held responsible for when it was me alone.”

Tai held up his hands, “Peace. I meant no offense. I just mean that I was afraid you were working yourself too hard. Not that I didn’t enjoy having breakfast with you in the morning or talking to you before bed, but you were holding my schedule, which is notoriously brutal. You’re half my age, which means that, sure, you might have more energy, but it’s just hard to see someone my daughters’ age working herself to the bone.”

Weiss sighed and let the tension leave her shoulders, “Sorry if I overreacted. I really hate being called a child. People have been using my age as an excuse to lie to me and hold me back my whole life. Maybe I was just a spoiled child, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear that.”

“I was young once, I understand that feeling.” Tai turned his attention back to the bacon, fishing it out onto a plate to let it drain. Things fell quiet for a little while and Weiss began to lose interest, thinking the conversation over for now. Then he surprised her, “How’s she doing?”

His words were so soft that Weiss wasn’t sure she heard right for a moment. This was the first time he’d ever asked her this so directly and Weiss knew that it wasn’t for a lack of concern. She paused, remembering Yang’s troubles from this morning, and said cautiously, “Good. Better. I think she’s finally on the right road, but it’ll take a while to get there.”

To her surprise, and disappointment, Tai let out an unhappy sigh, “You think it’ll take a while?”

“Yes.” Weiss tried her best not to sound defensive, keeping her voice small and soft, “She’s just been through something incredibly traumatic.”

“She’s a warrior.” Tai pointed out, “She’s been injured in battle before.”

“Not like this. I don’t think it’s just the injury, either, but it certainly is a big part. She lost her dominant hand, too, she’s still struggling with that.” Weiss pointed out.

“She trusts you. Isn’t there anything you can do to help the process along?” Tai pressed, a bit of desperation in his tone.

Weiss glared at him, dropping her neutral mask, “No. Furthermore, I won’t. Rushing through this healing is only going to make things worse in the long run. Frankly, you pushing her like this is only setting her back, too, so you need to lay off the pressure.”

“You don’t understand.” Tai said, obviously trying to placate her, “My daughter cannot be seen as weak.”

“She’s not weak.” Weiss growled out, standing suddenly, chair sliding back with a shriek, “And if you ever dare to say that again, I’ll freeze you to the ground.”

“No, no, that’s not-” Tai cut himself off with a sigh, “Weiss, I don’t think Yang is weak. She’s one of the strongest people I know. She’s the one responsible for how Ruby turned out, she took care of everything after Summer died. While I was losing to grief, she was handling it. I’m not the problem, but…. There are others that are waiting for a chance to take power from us. I’ve already begun to receive notices of challenge.”

“Challenge?” Weiss dropped back into her seat, dread sinking into her stomach. She remembered Yang explaining the custom to her what felt like another lifetime ago. A weak ruler wouldn’t be tolerated and Weiss suddenly understood Taiyang’s fear. “But Yang’s not ready.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve been pushing.” Tai aighed, “I didn’t mean to make her think I don’t care or anything like that. I’m just worried.”

“What if…. What if I took her challenges? Can we do that? I can be her champion as her betrothed or something!” 

“Technically there’s nothing in the rules about it, but only because it’s unspoken that we fight our own battles.” 

“I’ll study it, find a way to circumvent this or, or something. Do you mind bringing me everything you have on challenges and the actual notices themselves? Maybe i can find a loophole. Oh, but can you postpone them until Yang gets better?” Weiss thumped her hand on the table in frustration.

“I can buy her a couple months, but there’s no rules in place about challenging injured warriors. It’s just shameful, but Yang only needs to be deposed once to lose respect, no matter the circumstances. I mean, unless she puts on a really good show, then maybe she can keep her right to rule.” Weiss remembered Yang saying something about the challenges being judgment based, but the way Tai talked made it seem like keeping rule after losing was less common than Yang implied.

“We’ll think of something, I just need some time.” They both jerked their heads up as they heard heavy footfalls on the stairs. Tai scrambled to finish dishing out breakfast and Weiss took a few breaths to help steady her expression.

They managed to look casual as Yang turned the corner into the kitchen, greetings being passed around. Klein joined them from the other side of the room, having come in from Tai’s study, and gave them more distraction. Weiss’s head swirled with worry, though; she could not allow something like this to chip at her betrothed’s pride or self esteem. 

It was a tricky situation on her hands and she really wished that, more than anything, she could talk to Yang about this. Weiss was just afraid that the pressure would do more harm than good to the tenuous progress Yang had made thus far. She needed to take things one step at a time, but it didn’t help Weiss feel better about hiding things.

As soon as she figured out a solution, Weiss promised herself that she’d go to Yang about the issue. She just needed to keep quiet until then.


	13. Making Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss and Yang make progress with themselves and each other.

Weiss sat in her usual outdoor ‘study’, parchment, scrolls, and books spread around her in an unusual show of chaos. She’d been pouring over all the information that Taiyang and Klein had provided her whenever she got a moment alone, familiarizing herself with the rules and history of challenges. 

While challenges weren’t anything new, before the monarchy came about it had been the responsibility of each tribe to define what a challenge could entail. After the tribes were all annexed, the monarchy had consolidated most laws. Now, death was forbidden during a challenge, which was a relief, but also hadn’t completely stopped it from happening. Weiss had found far too many notes about trials where a person had been killed in a challenge just in the last 20 years. Granted she didn’t know what the percentage was, but the stack she had set aside under her feet did not make her feel better.

More worrisome were the lack of challenges using champions she’d found. So far, there’d been five reported cases since the monarchy was recognized. Four were losses, but the fifth was a similar case to her own. A woman taking the place of her husband, who’d been injured in battle and ended up an amputee. Weiss couldn’t find her reasoning, but it was noted that any other challenges were to default to her after that victory, so it must have been good.

She added the woman’s name to her notes, determined to find out her secret. It was the best lead she had right now. The other champions were either closely blood related or their losses were due to audience lack of satisfaction. Weiss couldn’t determine if it was because of the spectacle or because they were proxies. 

With a sigh, Weiss set her quill down and rubbed her aching left hand. She’d been at this for hours. It was one of Yang’s bad days, so she’d left her in bed for now after comforting her this morning. She didn’t think she’d be disturbed, but she intended to make sure her betrothed ate lunch.

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly and Weiss looked up to the sundial in the yard. It was far past lunchtime; she let out a decidedly unladylike curse and jumped to her feet, packing her notes and papers away hurriedly. She couldn’t believe she let the time get away from her like that, normally she was so careful to stick to a schedule. This challenge situation must have been stressing her out more than she thought.

After making sure nothing would fly away or be seen accidentally, Weiss turned and nearly ran smack into Yang. She jumped backwards with a cry, feeling a large hand land on her shoulder to steady her when she stumbled, “Yang!”

“Have you been working this whole time?” Yang concerned voice washed over her.

“Yes, I’m so sorry I missed lunch. I was just coming in to get that started.” Weiss moved to walk around Yang, but the hand held her firm.

“No, it’s okay, I actually already cooked. I was just coming to find you to see if you wanted some. I, uh, felt better and got hungry.” Yang said sheepishly, eyes flicking away in brief embarrassment, “I just wasn’t expecting to see you in the same spot you’d been since you came out here.”

“You noticed?” Weiss blinked at her curiously, watching a flush slowly rise up Yang neck and into her face.

“The window at the end of the hallway looks over the backyard, I just looked out when I went to the bathroom.” Yang pointed up towards the house and Weiss glanced up to see that she was right. From that angle, one could probably just see Weiss sitting at her ‘study’, it would be easy to check on her.

For some reason, thinking of Yang looking out the window for her, making sure she was around, made her chest fill with warmth. Now, they were both blushing, Yang’s hand on her shoulder feeling electric in the suddenly intimate atmosphere. “You cooked for me, too?” Weiss cursed the squeak that emerged at the end of her question.

Yang cleared her throat nervously and turned around, “Yeah. Come on if you want some, it’s getting cold.” Though her voice sounded gruff, Weiss could hear the slight tremor that indicated her nerves.

She hurried to follow, thoughts racing. What was that? Weiss couldn’t understand the sense of anticipation she had, like something good was there, waiting for the right moment to pop up. Shaking her head, trying to will the heat to fade, Weiss followed close behind Yang. As soon as the door opened, she was hit by a heavenly smell.

“Wow, what is that?” The scent lead Weiss to the table, where a plate full of noodles, creamy sauce, and meat was waiting at her usual place. “That looks amazing. I had no idea you could cook so well.”

Yang gave a proud grin, “Yeah, I actually taught my dad. Summer is the one that taught me, sort of. She left behind a lot of recipes when she passed and I got into them to take care of Ruby.”

“You taught yourself?” Weiss asked quietly. How young had Yang been when Summer had died? From the way everyone talked about it, Weiss had thought them much younger than was safe to be working a stove.

“Trial and error.” Yang shrugged, “Luckily I don’t burn easily, otherwise things might have been bad. I set a lot of pan fires before I could even properly reach the stovetop.”

“Thank you.” Weiss took her seat and noticed that there was only one plate laid out, “Have you finished already? I’m sorry, I wanted us to eat together.”

“You were busy.” Yang excused with a shrug, “It’s fine, I understand.”

“No.” Weiss said firmly, “No, it shouldn’t be understandable. I wanted us to eat together so that we can spend time together. It’s important.”

Yang looked surprised, “We don’t have to have every meal like that.” She offered slowly, as though unsure whether she would offend Weiss.

“Of course we don’t have to, but I want to. A schedule like that gives us something to look forward to.” A sudden thought hit her and Weiss felt a pit sink in her stomach, “Unless… You don’t want to do that...?”

“No!” Yang hastened to reassure, “No, I like it. I missed you today, that’s why I came looking.” They both blushed at her declaration, Weiss looking down at her lunch and Yang turning her head towards the window.

Quickly taking a bite, Weiss hummed in approval, “This is really good. What is it?” 

The subject change seemed to help, as Yang immediately launched into a description of the dish. Weiss felt the heat in her cheeks slowly fade to bearable levels. She half listened to Yang chatter on, enjoying the way her voice was filled with life, but the other half was busy scolding herself.

She needed to pay attention better, she didn’t want Yang to stumble upon what she was working on, but more than that, she didn’t want Yang to get used to disappointment with her. She refused to be like the other people in Yang’s life that let her down, loved but held at length. They were to be married and Weiss honestly wanted to honor that as a partnership. Yang deserved nothing less.

These thoughts weren’t new, either, but Weiss couldn’t quite pinpoint the moment when her thinking changed. It was almost odd how Weiss went from reluctantly acknowledging their future together to actively wanting to make it good for them both. Maybe it had actually been a gradual change, but, like a frog in a slowly heating pot, she hadn’t realized until the water began to boil.

Whatever the reason, Weiss couldn’t deny that she had developed some sort of feelings for Yang. Whether they were romantic remained to be seen, but Weiss suspected, with an oddly clinical detachment, that it would soon turn that way. She hadn’t decided whether or not she was excited or terrified at the prospect. 

Romance, and the inherent vulnerability that came with such things, was not something that appealed to Weiss. Certainly it was nice to dream of ‘someday’, but the reality of it was that it was hard to trust people. Glancing discreetly over at Yang, who was waving her arm while in the midst of some story, Weiss tried to imagine herself and Yang working out in such a way.

They would eat together, like this, Yang entertaining Weiss with her wild adventures, then maybe they would be sharing ruling duties and go outside to work together in good weather. They would definitely work out together, Weiss was determined to keep up her training in both body and magic. Maybe they would spar sometimes and bathe together afterwards. They could lay on the furs by the fire together, chatting softly, dozing or reading. Then they’d go to bed together, curling around each other and wake tangled together.

With a flush, Weiss realized that they already did most of these things in one way or another. Even with Yang not at 100%, they spent a lot of time together. Hadn’t Yang gone running with her just the other day? Hadn’t they been going to sleep and waking up together for a while now? Hadn’t Weiss been bathing Yang since they got here?

It wouldn’t be hard to make these things romantic.

“Weiss?” Yang’s voice snapped her from her thoughts and she turned her eyes sharply to her betrothed, who was looking at her in concern, “Your face is really red, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about all the work I have left to do today.” Weiss realized the moment the words left her lips that it was a terrible lie, but she tried to keep a straight face anyway.

Yang studied her with a skeptical expression and Weiss focused on looking as innocent as possible. When Yang nodded slowly and seemed to accept this, she thanked her stars for her court upbringing. No way would she be able to make such a bad lie convincing without the years of practice keeping an emotionless mask.

“Do you want some help? I’m not busy.” Yang offered and Weiss tried not to panic.

“No, I just need to suck it up and get used to delegating to Klein. Besides, I’m very picky about my paperwork and I want you to continue to like me. It’s best you don’t work with me like that.” They shared a little smile at her joke, “I am going to take a break, though, since I need to practice my magic.”

“Can I come watch?” Yang surprised her by asking. More often than not, Weiss would start her training and by the time she finished, Yang would already be there, watching from the sidelines or playfully cheering her on.

“You never asked before.” Weiss pointed out, “If it wasn’t an activity you weren’t welcome to share with me, I’d have said something already.”

“Yeah, but usually I just stumble on you already meditating. I’ve never been a part of it.” She’d never been invited, Weiss realized, watching Yang’s expression turn uncharacteristically shy.

“Yes, you can join me. It’ll be boring, but I want you to know you have an open invitation to join me in anything I do.” She paused, contemplating, then corrected, “Except paperwork. Just, don’t touch that stuff.”

Yang gave a little huff of laughter and Weiss was glad to see her smiling, “You really are picky.” As if by some unspoken signal, they both stood from the table and began to clean up the dishes. The water wasn’t as hot as Weiss imagined it had been when Yang washed her own plate, but it was still soapy and would work for what was needed.

She washed and Yang rinsed and stuck the dishes in the drying rack; Weiss mused over the domesticity of it all as they drained the sinks and she dried her hands on a nearby towel. Now that she’d admitted things to herself, was she always going to be looking for more in their interactions? Weiss hoped not, that second guessing was going to get annoying really fast.

She shook the thoughts from her mind as she followed Yang out the back and to her favorite meditation rock. She hopped up on it with ease, watching Yang follow suit, and they sat facing each other, “Are you going to meditate with me?”

“I might as well. Not that your face isn’t cute, but it’d be boring to just watch you all day.” Yang’s nonchalant words made Weiss’s face flame and she had to look away to compose herself. “...Sorry.” the embarrassed tone made her look back and Weiss saw Yang’s face was equally flushed.

“No, it’s okay. I like the compliment.” Weiss hastened to reassure.

“Really?” A timid, hopeful smile graced Yang’s lips and Weiss inexplicably felt more heat flood her face.

“No one’s ever said that to me before.” She admitted quietly, chewing on her lower lip nervously.

“Really?!” Yang sounded positively flummoxed, “No one?”

“No one that meant it.” Weiss corrected herself. “I’ve been called all sorts of flattering things, but never with sincerity.”

Weiss could see the gears turning in Yang’s head, watching her mull an idea over. It was still so strange to be able to read a person as though they were an entirely open book, but Weiss truly appreciated not having to play any games with her betrothed.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Yang said slowly, in a way that sounded like a promise and made Weiss’s stomach tingle.

Quickly, she took up her meditation pose and closed her eyes, “Come on, let’s get to it.” she urged, trying to will her blush away. She heard Yang chuckle, then sensed and heard movement as she mimicked Weiss’s cross legged posture.

“So, what do I do?” Yang asked after a few moments of silence. Weiss had already gathered her energies in just that little time and could feel her meditative state coming on.

“The point of meditation is to calm and focus yourself. To clear your mind of troubling thoughts and feelings. I’ve…. Never taught a non-mage before, but I’ll try my best.” Weiss stretched out her awareness and felt Yang beside her, but something was different. 

Where Yang sat she could sense a ball of energy not unlike a low level mage. Curiously, Weiss sent out a tendril of magic and was surprised when a nearly painful jolt resulted in her contact with Yang. “Ouch!” The barbarian exclaimed and they both opened their eyes in shock.

“What in the world?” Weiss couldn’t help reaching out and prodding Yang’s shoulder with her finger, “I thought you weren’t a mage?”

“I’m not. You remember how I said I was magic touched?” Weiss did, but in what felt like another life, “So, my birth mom left me with my dad not long after I was born.” Yang said, rushing the words after in an attempt to move past the subject, “Before that, though, she took me to some shaman. Apparently, it’s customary in her tribe to both bless and curse a child.”

“What? That’s barbaric.” Weiss remembered learning about curses in school and how much emphasis was put on how they were all terrible no matter the reason for using them. They were outlawed, of course, but fear was really the biggest detractor for its use.

“Yeah, it is, they believe that if you curse a child with hardship, but bless them to survive, then it will make them strong once they reach adulthood. Unfortunately for me, adulthood is in another few years. Other side effect, all babies are blessed with magical resistance and I supposedly have some sort of elemental affinity, whatever the hell that means.” Yang shrugged nonchalantly, but Weiss could tell she was bothered having to say this kind of thing aloud.

“It means that you have a certain element that you’re drawn to and that you don’t necessarily have to be a mage to interact with it.” Weiss gestured and an icicle easily came into existence, “I have a natural affinity to ice, but affinities can be blessed on you. There’s a seafaring tribe far to the south that blesses their children with water affinity so they make better sailors.”

“Hmm.” Yang hummed thoughtfully, “Maybe fire? That’s the first thing that comes to mind. Dad says I used to be a little pyro when I was a kid and I’ve always liked sitting near campfires.” Her voice lowered a bit as she thought harder, “Ruby also said my hair glows like fire when I get really mad, but I’ve never seen it. I do know my eyes turn red, though.”

“Maybe this is something to explore?” Weiss suggested, “Especially since you feel more powerful than a normal non magical person.”

“Powerful?” Yang questioned, “How do you mean?”

“I’m not sure, I can just sense it in you. Maybe it’s just the blessings, but I can feel your energy.” Weiss reached out and patted her knee, “Come on, let’s get you into a meditative state and see if we can’t figure something out from there.”

Yang complied and this time Weiss watched her take up the cross legged pose, hand resting on her knee limply. “When you close your eyes,” Weiss began, keeping her voice even and soft, “Everything is dark, but nothing goes away. The boulder is still here, the grass, and so are we. Energy also stays where it is.”

Weiss was pleased to see that Yang seemed to be listening intently, “Energy isn’t something we can normally see, however. For mages, we have to gather our energy into ourselves so that we can pull from it for spells. Which means that we need a way to gather it into one place. How do you gather something that’s nearly intangible, however?”

“You touched me.” Yang spoke up suddenly, realization in her voice. “You reached out with your energy and touched me. Or maybe my own energy? That’s why we got zapped.”

“Exactly right.” Weiss praised, smiling, “Energy can only interact with like forces. That’s why mages can control Dust, whereas a non-mage just can only throw it and hope for the best.”

“But how can I use energy if I’m not a mage?” That was the question of the hour, wasn’t it?

“If you have it, then maybe you can control it like we do.” It was hard to keep her voice level and not get excited at trying something so new. “I like to imagine my body as a vessel, one that contains all my magic. My magic flows throughout my body, and I need to center it, and myself, in order to draw on it.”

“A vessel.” Yang murmured, “A vessel, a vessel.”

“Don’t strain yourself.” Weiss chided gently, “Start by defining your boundaries. Imagine a barrier outlining yourself, the walls of the vessel, and keeping everything inside. I picture mine as a white outline, but maybe yours would be yellow or purple or red.”

“Gold?” Yang’s tentative voice, so much like a child, made Weiss smile.

“Yes, whatever color you want. The important part is seeing your outline in your mind’s eye.” Weiss explained, “Once you are a vessel, you can begin to feel what you’re containing.” Yang squinted her eyes shut hard and Weiss stroked her knee lightly, “Don’t overthink it. If it helps, try just imagining a large oval around yourself, details can be worked in later.”

For a few, long moments, Yang was silent, expression changing whenever she lost her grip on the exercise and prompting Weiss to whisper encouraging words and advice. Finally, Weiss felt a change in the air, a stillness coming over them both, and she instinctively knew Yang succeeded. Her energy was contained and Weiss only just now noticed that it had been wild and free before.

“I think I did it.” Yang said softly, in awe, “I feel different.”

“I sense it, too.” Weiss responded in a whisper. “Now, the hard part; you need to gather your energy into one place, right in your middle.”

“Gathering how?”

“Imagine taking your hand and reaching out to the errant strands of energy, collecting them like you would loose thread and pulling it into a pile. It won’t matter at first if it’s messy.”

Weiss was surprised when Yang huffed a laugh, “Loose thread, huh? Did I tell you that I make my own clothing?”

“I believe you mentioned it?” Weiss offered questioningly.

“I’m the Queen of loose thread.” Yang boasted and a smirk spread across her face, “I can gather some loose energy.”

To Weiss’s astonishment, she felt Yang stretch out in determination and do just that. Her fingers twitched rhythmically and Weiss realized that it was an effect of her reaching out inside herself at the same pace. Weiss quickly assumed her own meditation pose and followed the same exercise, but she hadn’t even fully centered herself before she realized something astonishing.

She could see Yang’s outline.

Not just her own imagining of Yang’s vessel shape, but the crude oval of what must have been Yang’s created outline. More than that, there was a dimly glowing and neatly wrapped ball in the middle that had the appearance of yarn and Weiss could see tiny tendrils being gently coaxed around and around until it was about the size of her fist.

So stunned was she that Weiss didn’t make a sound as she watched her betrothed work. She’d never before seen another’s energy. Energy itself was something that was inherently unseen, so she had no idea how this was even possible at all. It was one thing to imagine it yourself, it was another entirely to see another’s imagination.

“Weiss, I think I did it.” Yang’s voice snapped her from her thoughts and she nearly opened her eyes in surprise, “Woah, I think I can see your outline, that’s really neat. I didn’t know that was going to happen.”

“Neither did I.” Weiss confessed quietly, “I’ve meditated near other mages before, but I’ve never had this happen.”

“Maybe it’s because I zapped you earlier?” Yang suggested, “Or maybe because I’m not a mage? Or maybe…”

Weiss was curious enough about the squeak in Yang’s voice when she trailed off to open her eyes a little bit. The barbarian’s face was cherry red in embarrassment, “Maybe?” Weiss coaxed gently.

“Maybe because we’re… close?” Yang offered and Weiss felt her own face heat up.

Surely if Yang meant it as innocently as she presented it, she wouldn’t have been so shy to say it. Weiss forcefully shook those thoughts away and cleared her throat, “All of that is a possibility. I’ll do some research on it later; for now, let’s just focus on the meditation. That’s the point of all this.”

“Right.” Yang breathed, voice holding a determined edge, “So, how do you center yourself?”

Weiss closed her eyes, again and took a breath, “For me, I prefer to focus on my breathing until my thoughts melt away.”

“Just like that?” Yang asked curiously.

“Just like that.” Weiss confirmed. That had always been the easiest part for her and now it was second nature. She could easily clear her mind with just a few breaths, even if she wasn’t holding this pose. “So, here’s what we’ll do; we’re going to breathe in for a count of five, hold it for a count of five, then let it out for a count of five. Focus on counting and focus on breathing until you can think of nothing else. I’ll start us off by counting and you can follow my rhythm.”

“1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” Weiss began her slow, methodical counting, keeping an ear out to make sure Yang was following along. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” It was so easy to lose herself in this familiar beat of the meditation that she actually had to keep opening one eye just to keep herself from reaching her centered state too deeply. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” 

However, each time she opened her eye, she glanced at Yang and saw frustration creasing her forehead. “Stop trying so hard.” She advised gently, voice following the melodic beat of the counting, “It’s supposed to be relaxing.”

“How can I relax when I can hear everything?” Yang complained, “All being quiet and still is doing is making me aware of what’s around me.”

“You have to stop thinking about it.” Weiss said, voice still light and airy, “Focus on your breathing and the counting, put everything else out of your mind.” 

“I can’t!” Weiss was surprised by the strength of Yang’s outburst, feeling all the energy control dissolve instantly, “The more I don’t focus on it, the more I can’t not.”

Blinking in surprise, Weiss watched Yang closely, realizing that she was trembling. What had just happened? Yang seemed fine not ten minutes ago, had she really just psyched herself out? “I think we should move on to something else.” She suggested slowly.

Yang sat, clenching her fist in her lap, tremors running through her form. Weiss wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her, to provide comfort, but something stopped her. Something in the way Yang’s face was scrunched up made her feel like she would be rejected and that thought hurt more than anything right at this moment.

An idea struck her quite suddenly and Weiss quickly folded herself back into her meditative pose. Gathering her energy, she reached out with her magic and formed a large glyph on the ground in front of the rock. For a moment, nothing happened; Weiss could still sense Yang struggling beside her, her glyph glowed lazily, even the wind was still.

Then rune ignited around the outside of her glyph and a light exploded from it, so bright that Weiss could even see it behind her eyelids. She heard Yang gasp quietly at the same time a muted thump sounded on the grass. Cracking open an eye, Weiss watched as the armored hand clutched at the ground, a figure struggling to pull itself up from inside her glyph.

This was as far as she’d gotten during practice, but it was farther than she knew Yang had seen. Weiss was certain that it would serve as a sufficient distraction for her betrothed. The knight would struggle for a few moments, then he would give up and tumble back down into the abyss he’d been summoned from. It was practically routine by this point.

With that knowledge in mind, Weiss turned her attention to Yang, watching the expressions play across her face with a fond smile. She seemed so genuinely excited at the little show, earlier upset forgotten. Weiss silently congratulated herself for her successful attempt at cheering the barbarian up.

A second thump on the grass gave her pause.

Turning back towards her summoning, Weiss stared, stunned, as a second hand joined the first in hoisting the knight up. Weiss could hear the metal of the armored joints creaking at the effort to heft itself upwards and through her glyph. From the middle of the bright light, a blue tinted helmet breached, a sharp fin jutting up into the air.

Inch by inch, more of the helmet was revealed as the knight climbed into their plane. The place where it’s eyes should have been was nothing but cavernous darkness, but Weiss could tell that it’s sight was locked on her from the moment the face came fully into view. That fathomless gaze made Weiss shrink back uncertainly; she couldn’t help feeling like it was displeased with her for some reason.

The knight reached out its arms and began to claw at the grass, trying to get enough purchase to tear itself out of Weiss’s glyph. It was a surprisingly undignified motion and Weiss had the thought that maybe she should help it up. A quick motion summoned two smaller glyphs for the knight to grab hold of and it seemed that even that small amount of leverage was just what it needed to pull itself free.

A giant knee planted itself in the grass before her, the knight smoothly managing to bring itself into a kneeling position in front of her as the rest of its body came free from her glyph. It looked at her meaningfully, still taller than Weiss even on her elevated boulder, and a sudden wash of understanding came over her. It wasn’t enough for her to simply open the portal between her and where the knight resided normally, she needed to do more to help it out. It felt like it was the knight conveying these things to her, it must be its way of communicating.

“I’m sorry.” She grimaced, putting a palm to her forehead in embarrassment. “I didn’t understand.” The knight just gazed back at her stoically, “Is there anything else I should know?” She asked it tentatively.

There was a pause, then she saw an image of the knight looking down at it’s gauntlet-less hand. Weiss recognized this as being one of the many times she’d summoned only the gauntlet. The feeling she got from the knight was one of being disgruntled and disapproving and it made her cringe, “Ah, right, sorry about that, too.”

The knight continued to look at her, but no other information was forthcoming.

“I promise I’ll do better next time.” Weiss said with no small amount of conviction. The knight was silent for a long moment, then it shifted its stance, summoning a huge sword to its side. The tip of the blade dug into the ground as the knight knelt with more reverence. The answer was clear; it trusted her to be true to her word.

Weiss gave a relieved sigh, “Thank you.” 

“I have no idea what’s going on.” Yang’s awed voice nearly startled Weiss off her rock, “That was amazing, though! You finally summoned. I’m so proud of you!” Her arm engulfed Weiss’s shoulders and pulled her into a firm hug.

Weiss let out a surprised laugh, “I had no idea it would be like this.” She looked at the knight and had the feeling of him watching her, waiting for orders. Hesitantly, she concentrated on him and tried to will him to go back to where he’d come from. His form shimmered once, then began to disintegrate into thousands of tiny lights. “I need to practice more, but I think I finally found the key.” 

Yang’s arm was warm around her shoulders and Weiss let herself lean into the embrace. A gentle squeeze was her reward, “You did really good.” The quiet words sent a thrill through her heart, something about the tone was unfamiliar but pleasing. Then Yang’s voice turned teasing, “Guess you just needed a good luck charm.”

Weiss chuckled quietly, “And I guess it’s a good thing I’m stuck with you, huh?” They exchanged smiles that were charged with some emotion that Weiss was too afraid to name at the moment, “Come on, I still have some training time left. Maybe you can give me some tips on my fire forms.”

__________________

Over the next few weeks, Weiss and Yang fell into a pleasant routine. They spent nearly every waking minute together, with the exception of the time that Weiss used to get her paperwork done. In the morning, they’d go running and other physical exercises that Weiss had been slowly ramping up in intensity. Despite her words when they first agreed to physical training, Yang quickly succumbed to the temptation of working out every day. 

Weiss was glad for it, the older girl was showing a drive that had been lacking in the last couple months. The exercise and time outdoors was also showing to have a noticeable improvement in Yang’s muscle tone and skin. Her face no longer looked pale, the bags under her eyes began to clear up, and her energy increased dramatically. She was beginning to look like the girl Weiss had first met.

Still, she worried for her betrothed; another challenge notice had come in, this time with a deadline. In three weeks there would be a festival intended to usher in the summer season and the challenger had made it clear that he and Yang’s fight was to be the main event. Weiss was frustrated at the time constraints; she had no intention of letting Yang in the ring with someone who was that cruel and barbaric.

Worse still, she’d sent a message to the woman who’d successful fought as her husband’s proxy and received a reply just the day after the newest challenge notice. The woman was adamant that Weiss not do it, scornfully so. She went on for an entire page about how outsiders didn’t belong in their proud culture in such a way and the Atlesians, especially, needed to keep their fancy noses out of that kind of thing.

‘My husband had to suffer enough indignity at having another person take over as his strength failed him.’ The woman had gone on, ‘Though he loves me and it was recognized, his pride has taken such a blow that it’s a point of contention between us and forever will be. For him, it would have been better to die in that battle than to live as a coward. For me, it would have been better to mourn him once than to mourn him every day as I have since the challenge. Heed my words, dainty princess, your betrothed would do better to stand on her own power in front of the judgement of others than to have you do it for her.’

Weiss had always thought herself one to hear wise counsel, but in this instance, she felt her pride rearing up to lash out. Perhaps she was asking questions only an outsider would ask, but the woman didn’t have to be quite so coarse with her response. Her left hand itched with the need to pen a scathing reply to this dry old windbag. Surely she was exaggerating, anyway, it was far better to have a spouse that was still alive than one in the ground.

Heaving a great sigh, Weiss set her quill down and dropped a paperweight on top of her work. There was a guilty burning in her chest that had been there since she first read the woman’s reply. Was wanting to protect her betrothed really so heinous? Maybe she was being influenced by Tai’s worry and that was the reason for her stubborn determination on fighting for Yang. Or maybe it was that she felt she still had a lot to prove and this challenge was just a convenient excuse for her to selfishly fulfill her own wishes.

Frustrated with how her thoughts chased themselves in circles, Weiss decided to take a break from her work and walk around to clear her head. She sloppily piled her loose papers under the weight and stood up pointedly. She was going to go and not come back until she’d decided on some kind of plan.

Turning on her heel, Weiss marched towards the woodline and her favored exercise trail. She and Yang used this trail every morning, now, and Weiss had run it by herself before then, so just being in the familiar area was already doing wonders on calming her down. She wasn’t planning to run or even jog, but Weiss still adopted a quick walk, letting herself concentrate on the pace of her feet against the ground and the pleasant warmth in her muscles.

It was a kind of meditation in an of itself and something that Weiss never thought that she’d actually take pleasure in. Before coming here, exercise and physical exertion had always been a necessary evil. Go to the gym and do her routine, become stronger so that she could fend off attackers and her father. Shoulders back, head high, right foot forward, thrust, parry. No happiness, only work and sweat and tears.

Here, now, Weiss found herself in an aimless rhythm; left, right, left, right, pump her arms in time. She listened to the birds, felt the sun on her face and the breeze in her hair. She looked around, the exercise was secondary to the sights and the freedom she had. Maybe that was the difference; freedom, choice. She didn’t run or work because she expected to use it, she did it because she could, because it made her feel good.

As the tension drained from her body, Weiss allowed her thoughts to draw back towards the problem at hand. The challenge, Yang, Tai, the woman’s reply. For the first time, Weiss allowed herself to wonder if the woman was right. Was she really just not understanding the importance of the show of strength a challenge asked for? Things were so different here and a part of her still thought of these things as savage and unworthy.

Was it, though? Or perhaps she was the unworthy one, butting in on her betrothed’s behalf without even consulting her. The way that Yang and Tai both talked of challenges was completely different. Tai seemed almost afraid of them, while Yang accepted them and even seemed to enjoy the battle. 

It made sense; what Tai had gained from challenges, he’d also lost eventually, and now his eldest daughter was in danger. He feared loss, perhaps he thought he wouldn’t survive another. Perhaps he was right on that account, but Weiss shook that morbid thought away.

For Yang, she dealt with loss much better and she’d never put anything on the line without confidence that she’d be victorious. Even her defeat had brought Pyrrha into their family. She thrived in battle, took pride in her strength, even now, while recovering, Weiss could still see a stubborn spark that hated asking for help.

 _Yang hated asking for help_ ; Weiss knew that, but for some reason the thought was only just now hitting her. If Yang knew she was going behind her back like this, planning on taking her place in a challenge, she’d be furious and upset and hurt. It had taken Weiss so long to earn her trust enough to help her on her recovery and she’d been fought every step of the way, this would destroy that progress. 

The challenge would be public and Weiss’s plan was going to take away her choice and force her into accepting help she would not want.

The realization had Weiss skidding to a stop, horror dawning on her. What was she thinking? Would Yang ever forgive her if she went through with it? She would be throwing away every ounce of trust that had been placed in her over these months. Weiss leaned heavily against a nearby tree, knees weakening as her sheer stupidity hit her like a runaway carriage.

“I’m so idiotic.” She muttered, forcing herself to straighten. She had to go back, she needed to show Yang the challenge notices and let her decide what to do. Maybe they could amp up her training and focus on stamina. They needed to buckle down if Yang was going to accept the challenge and have a chance after being sedentary for so long.

Turning on her heel, Weiss marched back to her desk with determination; she wasn’t that far from where she’d started. If she looked up, she could even see where the trees broke around the backyard clearing. In no time, she was stepping out into the familiar open area, feeling a burst of wind hit her, carrying parchment along the ground.

Weiss, recognizing her own handwriting, gasped and bent to scoop up the page. “What the…” She muttered, looking up and finding more and more parchment on the ground. Her pages were everywhere! A brief panic hit her as she darted forward to try and grab her work before it got too far. Where was her paperweight!?

Only a few steps forward gave her the answer; there, lying far from her desk, sat the heavy crystal. This wasn’t the wind’s work, there was no breeze that strong outside of a storm to lift that weight; no, someone had thrown it off her desk to near the woodline. Slowly, Weiss raised her eyes, feeling a pit forming in her stomach.

Her gaze paused at the back of a sturdy pair of boots and Weiss had to force herself to look further up. Up, past toned calves and strong thighs, over a fur skirt and muscled back, covered by thick, blonde hair. Yang was hunched over Weiss’s desk, looking down at something hidden by her body.

Did she know Weiss was there? Inexplicably, the need to flee filled her and Weiss felt her legs tense instinctively. She couldn’t move, staring at her betrothed’s stiff posture and waiting for something to happen. Movement nearly caused her to jump, but Yang didn’t turn. Instead, she slowly held up her hand.

In her fist was clutched the challenge notice.

“When were you going to tell me?” The words floated to her on a breeze, low and deeply intimidating.

Weiss took a step forward, then another, “Yang…” She began gently, taking the tone one might with a skittish animal, “I was coming to tell you now.”

“Just now? There’s multiple challenges here, Weiss!” Yang whipped around and Weiss gasped; her normally lovely purple eyes glowed a deep, angry red. “How long have you kept this from me?!”

Weiss winced and held up her hands in an effort to placate Yang, “Please, let me explain.” Her voice took on an edge of begging that Weiss found she couldn’t be ashamed of.

“What possible explanation could you have to justify this!?” Yang roared, taking a step forward and making Weiss shuffle back instinctively.

“I was wrong.” Weiss tried a different tactic, “I know that I was wrong. I wanted to make it right. Please, you have to believe me.”

“Believe you?!” Another step forward and Weiss took another back, “How can I? You don’t even understand why I’m so mad, you don’t even know what you’ve done! You outsider! You, you pompous ass! You Atlesian snob! You busybody!” Each insult was punctuated by a stomp of Yang’s boots, bringing her closer and closer to Weiss until she was backed up against a tree.

Fear, real fear, shot through Weiss when she noticed that she had nowhere to go. Yang was going to hit her, she realized with a sense of dread she’d never associated with her betrothed before. Unlike her father, Yang could do some real damage to her; also unlike her father, Weiss probably deserved what was surely coming to her. Yang was still shouting, but all Weiss could focus on was the way her hands began to gesture wildly; it would definitely be a punch, Yang would probably broadcast it more with her body than her words.

Her father never got like this, he was a cold rage, he never yelled in her face like this. Weiss couldn’t have honestly said which terrified her more. With her father, it felt like an endless darkness, as though his punishments would never truly end. Yang felt like she would inflict the maximum amount of damage she could and then take off.

Weiss wasn’t sure what her face looked like in that moment, but it caught Yang’s attention; she abruptly stopped yelling. “Weiss.” She looked up into eyes that were back to their normal purple, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know.” Weiss said on reflex, voice barely coming out in a croak. The lie was so obvious a child could have seen through her; it was a natural reaction to placate Yang and tell her what Weiss thought she wanted to hear. 

It seemed to have the exact opposite reaction; those eyes flared red again in a blink, “You really think that I’d hurt you!? You’re unbelievable! I’m the injured party here, you can’t turn this around on me. I have a right to be angry!” As quickly as the new flash of temper came, though, did it leave. Yang slumped with a sigh, “I don’t really want to see you right now. I’m too upset.”

“Okay.” Weiss agreed, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat. She’d never been in a situation quite like this before and she felt trapped between flight or fight. Her legs didn’t seem to want to move, even though her head was telling her to run, instead, she stayed frozen, like a startled deer, waiting for the predator to move on.

Eventually, Yang turned on her heel and headed back towards the house, feet still stomping in irritation. As soon as she was out of sight, Weiss took her chance and bolted in the opposite direction.


End file.
